Response to Screen Rant owner’s legal threats demanding removal of posts


I fully stand by my right, and the right of all independent publishers and journalists, to freely express opinions and share facts about Valnet or any of its media properties.

from Joshua Tyler
| Published

Last week I told you about a a cease and desist letter issued by Valnet in which they demand my silence. Valnet is the parent company of websites such as Screen Rant, Game Rant, Collider, Movie Web and CBR. This letter (which you can read in full here) is threatening legal action unless I comply with their requests to remove posts that mention their company and its websites.

Below are two examples of statements that Valnet requires to be removed. They cite many other examples in theirs full cease and desist letter.

My attorney drafted a response that we sent to Valnet’s legal counsel. Our response clearly states that we believe Valnet’s claims are “frivolous” because the publications cited are protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

We believe the letter issued by Valnet’s legal counsel is a clear attempt to silence open dialogue regarding the business practices of their company and related media entities such as Screen Rant.

“The only thing that is ‘absolutely clear’ is that Mr. Tyler shared his opinions and information that he gathered on the Internet. It is also clear that your letter is an attempt to silence Mr. Tyler and prevent open dialogue about Valnet’s business practices in the marketplace of ideas.”

I will not delete my posts, all of which contain opinions and other protected discourse. I fully stand by my right, and the right of all independent publishers and journalists, to freely express opinions and share facts about Valnet or any of its media properties.

How Valnet will respond to this refusal to meet their demands remains to be seen.

The full response submitted to Valnet’s legal counsel is included below.