A little bit of libel is a small price to pay for the freedom of the internet. That is the bargain the US Congress struck with the digital devil back in the early internet era: companies that help people connect online should not be held liable for what those people say about each other – even if it is mean, nasty or defamatory.

Now, a decade later, the case of an obscure retired newspaper publisher from Tennessee has forced a re-examination of that most basic bargain of the information age: that internet service providers, companies that host message boards and any other kind of interactive website, are not liable for what their users do online. Without that kind of immunity, no one could risk putting people in touch with people in the digital era. But inevitably, internet immunity has its victims: John Seigenthaler is one of them.