EFF has asked a judge today to block a reality TV star’s attempts to censor critical comments about her company on a popular online fashion blog.

Corri McFadden, star of the VH1 show “House of Consignment,” filed suit against Purseblog.com in a California federal court after a commenter accused McFadden’s company eDrop-Off of “shill bidding” – making bogus bids to inflate the prices of designer goods the company sells in online auctions.  But California has strong legal protections against lawsuits filed to chill participation in publicly significant discussions, and now McFadden is asking the court in California to let her dismiss the lawsuit without any penalty so that she can pursue it in a state with more favorable law.  In a friend-of-the-court brief, EFF urged the court in California not to let McFadden off the hook.