http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963122.html : "Many companies and organizations are trying to shoehorn their copyright or trademark rights into DMCA claims, in the hope of persuading ISPs and site owners to take down pages which are critical." tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
I don't see the connection you're trying to make. The article is related to trademark and copyright infringement, not suppressing criticism.
I know it's a long and sometimes tedious article, but give it another look. It does in fact talk a lot about how companies are using trademark/copyright claims as an *excuse* to force critics to remove their uncomplimentary material from websites.
Interesting article. I particularly like the link that they provided. Thanks. http://www.chillingeffects.org/
Yes, that site has a lot of interesting examples of people who've received C&D notices. But their first paragraph really says it all: "Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, a joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley law school clinics. . . . Have you received a letter asking you to remove information from a Web site . . . Are you concerned about liability for information that someone else posted to your online forum? . . . some individuals and corporations are using intellectual property and other laws to silence other online users."