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This Note will first analyze the history of early internet defamation litigation and subsequent federal statutory solutions.  It will then discuss libel statutes and decisions applicable to internet libel suits from Massachusetts and other jurisdictions. The Note will then discuss the Noonan decision and how it reconciles with previous case law and Massachusetts statutory law.  In the analysis section, the Note will examine the Noonan decision and its potential impact on future internet libel suits. The Note will argue for First Amendment protection for those who post anonymous opinions on the internet and a higher standard of proof to demonstrate the “actual malice” element of libel.  It will also recommend and discuss various alternatives for protecting bloggers’ rights to free speech on the internet via state anti-Strategic Legislation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) legislation, which bars frivolous suits intended to silence critics.  Finally, this Note will examine the ability of Massachusetts’s anti-SLAPP statute to extend to internet communications beyond those petitioning the government. . .