Mike, an aggrieved resident and past employee of ABC Co. said he would make a highly critical Internet bulletin board statement about the ABC Co. if he was not paid $3 million which he thought the company owed him. Unpaid, he did just that. Then ABC Co.sued Mike, under tort law and was awarded $15,000 in damages. ABC Co. appealed this trial judge decision. The appeal judge stated: " the Internet makes instantaneous global communication available cheaply to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection. It enables individuals, institutions, and companies to communicate with a potentially vast global audience....this is a new and global age of free speech and democracy, [but] the Internet is also potentially a medium of virtually limitless international defamation." The damage award was increased to $125,000 including punitive damages.

Questions:

A. What tort action was this case based on?

B. Do you agree or disagree with the trial court and the appeal court decisions? Why or Why not?