There are likely some hundreds of thousands of blogs out there, if not more. Most of them begin with a burning desire to find an outlet for their authors, who feel that they have something to say. However, as we’ve all seen lately, actually saying it can be dangerous.

That looks like a direct attack on our freedom of speech, both to the EFF and to me. To help keep bloggers out of the headlines, the EFF has published a legal guide.

To be clear, this guide isn’t a substitute for, nor does it constitute, legal advice. Only an attorney who knows the details of your particular situation can provide the kind of advice you need if you’re being threatened with a lawsuit. The goal here is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger, to let you know you have rights, and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected.