NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Most people like gossip . Come on ! You do too . Do n't you glance every once in a while at US Weekly , In Touch , Page Six ? And how about that Spitzer scandal -- even I ca n't get enough of that one . A freshman talks about how cruel postings on the Juicy Campus web site have tainted her college experience . But what happens when the gossip is about you or your boyfriend or your kid ? And what if it 's there on the Internet , for the entire world to see on a Web site called Juicy Campus ? That 's what happened to Jane Smith ( her name has been changed to protect her privacy ) , a college freshman I spoke with recently . She said she learned from a friend that her name had been posted on the Web site and people were anonymously posting not so nice things about her . Things like she was promiscuous , `` ugly , '' `` overrated , '' `` racist . '' Things she says are not true . Her post has received over a thousand page views -- in non-techie speak , everyone is reading and writing about her . She even got a request for a `` hook up '' from a guy hundreds of miles away at another college . She told me that when she read the posts , she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach . She called her parents in the middle of the night crying . She has lost weight , has trouble sleeping , and has become suspicious of those around her . She told me that it has ruined her freshman year -- and will likely taint her entire college experience . Watch how campus poison pens inflict pain » . So what is Juicy Campus and who is behind it ? Juicy Campus is a Web site , founded on August 1 , 2007 , which claims to have `` the simple mission of enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses . '' The site allows and encourages posters to anonymously post uncensored gossip and rumors -- the juicier the better -- about others . There is a separate section on the site for each college or university , over 60 campuses at last count . Some recent posts discuss the breasts of a professor , sluttiest girls and sexiest guys on campus . Some posts even contain racist , sexist and anti-Semitic remarks . Juicy , huh ? It was founded by a Duke alum , a former frat house president who has gone to lengths to keep his identity secret . We tried to reach him for comment . He did n't return our calls or e-mails . Instead , we received this not-so-juicy statement from a publicist : . `` While there has been much attention given to the critics ... Thousands of students from across the country have written in to request that their campus be added . '' Come on ! Why is he hiding ? Jane ca n't even sue him . In fact , there is little she can do . Juicy Campus and similar Web sites are protected under Communications Decency Act of 1996 . The Act aims to shield Web publishers from liability for libelous comments posted by third parties . The section states `` no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider . '' Juicy Campus is one of those sites that openly hides behind its immunity . The site 's Frequently Asked Questions page states : `` There is no way for someone using the site to find out who you are . And we at Juicy Campus are not keeping track of who you are or what you post . In fact , we prefer not to know who you are . We like to think that famous people like Justin Timberlake and Beyonce are using our site . We love them ... '' But what about those cowards , I mean posters , who like to call people names behind the wizard 's curtain of protection provided by the Communications Decency Act ? The First Amendment certainly protects free speech , even unpopular speech . Opinions are protected . The truth is protected . But lies are not . To successfully sue the posters , Jane would have to show that they made false and defamatory statements about her ( racist and slutty would qualify , I think ) published them to a third party ( I read them ) and that her reputation was damaged ( check ) . In fact , most jurisdictions also recognize `` per se '' defamation , where the allegations are presumed to cause damage to the plaintiff , such as attacks on a person 's professional character or standing ; allegations that an unmarried person is unchaste ; a person is infected with a sexually transmitted disease or has committed a crime of `` moral turpitude . '' Should Jane sue the pants off the posters ? How would she find them ? When you file a civil lawsuit against even an anonymous individual , a judge can issue a subpoena . Juicy Campus says it will respond to any `` lawful subpoena . '' A subpoena could reveal a poster 's IP address . But in the end , it really is sooooo high school . Actually , it 's more grade school . So Juicy Campus posters , come out , come out wherever you are . Or Jane , file a lawsuit and find them . E-mail to a friend .
College gossip site Juicy Campus allows anonymous posting . Comment: Opinions are protected under the law , lies are not . Legal action may be difficult unless site cooperates in identifying posters .