Jonathan Tasini, a blogger and labor activist, has filed a class action lawsuit against the Huffington Post, its two cofounders, and new owner AOL, for not paying freelance bloggers while benefiting financially from the content they create. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks to represent more than 9,000 writers and other content providers and asks for at least $105 million in damages.
AOL’s recent purchase of the Huffington Post for $315 million prompted the lawsuit according to Tasini, who believes that the 9000 bloggers are entitled to a cut of this “windfall.” The suit alleges that the Huffington Post has been "unjustly enriched" by luring contributors with the prospect of exposure but keeping the financial gain from their articles.
AOL said the lawsuit lacks merit. "As we've said before, our bloggers use our platform — as well as other unpaid group blogs across the web — to connect and help their work be seen by as many people as possible," said AOL spokesman Mario Ruiz in a statement. "It's the same reason hundreds of people go on TV shows to promote their views and ideas. HuffPost bloggers can cross-post their work on other sites, including their own."
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