Comments on: Landmark Ruling: Judge Orders Google to Hand Over Identity of Anonymous Blogger

By: Anonymity Unbound – Cyber Babies vs. Cyber Bullies | Parcbench

Anonymity Unbound – Cyber Babies vs. Cyber Bullies | Parcbench — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:43:13 +0000

[...] Beal, an “online reputation management consultant” (cyber cleaner/fixer), observed that anonymity is coming to an end on the web. It will be a business [...]

By: Pizzaman7

Pizzaman7 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:47:07 +0000

This is another assult on freedom of speech. So an anonymous blogger insulted her. So what ? So we are now going to have the courts decide what is defaming ? What if we have negative comments against our government ? Are we all going to be silenced ? This is another extension of the Political Correctness ruining this country. May be we all should not speak to one another anymore for fear that we would be sued. What a joke. I have never heard of this lady. So what are her “damages”. I guess we will have actors claim that they lost out on a film because of “damaging comments” even if they were not right for the part or other reasons.

This is a very slippery slope. Sad to see. I suppose someone is going to sue me now……

By: Greg Habermann

Greg Habermann — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:11:41 +0000

Interestingly enough, the blogger is planning on suing Google for not protecting her privacy…

http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2009/08/quoted-1108.html

By: Sage Lewis

Sage Lewis — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:32:42 +0000

Ever since Yahoo turned over the identity of journalist Shi Tao to the Chinese government who reported on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, I’ve really sided with anonymity.

I understand the pain of being abused online by anonymous asses.

But getting the government involved in this is dangerous territory.

Personally, I don’t think Google should abide by the ruling.
.-= Sage Lewis´s last blog ..Favorite Places on Google Maps =-.

By: Misty

Misty — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:12:19 +0000

Anyone who post defamatory comments should be prepared to appear in court. It's surprising that so many get away with it by being anonymous. .-= Misty´s last blog ..Simplified Internet Marketing Strategies =-.

By: Tractor engine heater

Tractor engine heater — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:15:46 +0000

I think every person should have a sense of moral standard in his head before he speaks or write about anybody. We are capable of knowing what is hurtful and what is not. Somehow we can know a person’s character by the words that comes out him.

By: The Weekly Insider 8-10-09 to 8-21-09

The Weekly Insider 8-10-09 to 8-21-09 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:44:45 +0000

[...] Landmark Ruling: Judge Orders Google to Hand Over Identity of Anonymous Blogger [...]

By: Michael Roberts Internet libel victim's advocate

Michael Roberts Internet libel victim's advocate — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:52:49 +0000

Nice summary Andy, I have on several occasions tried to persuade judges for various cases that a low-tech home-based anonymous blogger can be as devastating to an individual who relies on the reputation as a vandal who destroys a farmers livestock and burns his barns.

Let’s hope that this New York precedent will be adopted by all other jurisdictions, the language in the order was straightforward and quite persuasive.

By: Technology

Technology — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:18:53 +0000

That’s setting a scary precedent for all bloggers.

By: Allen Taylor

Allen Taylor — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:54:07 +0000

This is a good ruling. I don’t publish anonymous comments on my blogs. I figure if a person can’t put their name on it then it’s not important enough to be a public statement.

I too hope anonymity has seen its better days. I believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe in responsibility and hiding behind a cloud (or a white hood) isn’t taking responsibility. It’s hiding from it. The law should be clear about the repercussions of actions done behind an anonymous veil and the preponderance of evidence should tilt in the favor of the accuser (at least in terms of forcing a revealing of the anonymous person’s identity). The next step is to hold search engines and ISPs legally responsible for acting as an accomplice after-the-fact when they protect the anonymity of people breaking the law or recklessly damaging the reputation of others.
.-= Allen Taylor´s last blog ..How $5 Doubled My Income Within 7 Days =-.

By: yoonod

yoonod — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:52:28 +0000

please continue refueling!

By: Brad C DMD

Brad C DMD — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:23:33 +0000

I agree with one of the previous commentors. This has to be taken ona case-by-case basis. My biggets problem with this is that it opens up a can of worms in terms of corruption. Who decides what comments are "criminal"? This sets a precedent for the government to possibly try to uncover the identity of any dissenter. This may sound paranoid, but with the white house collecting an "enemies list" and asking for neighbors to turn in neighbors, I don't put anything past the government .-= Brad C DMD´s last blog ..Angrydentist’s thoughts of the day- August 18 =-.

By: Model’s Suit Exposes ‘Cyberbully’ Blogger; Will Blogging Be Changed? – 178th Edition | The Daily Digest

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:26:37 +0000

[...] Pilgrim Andy Beal says that: With this ruling — and if other judges follow suit — it will make it easier for [...]

By: Model’s Suit Exposes ‘Cyberbully’ Blogger; Will Blogging Be Changed? – 193th Edition | The Daily Digest

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:25:27 +0000

[...] Pilgrim Andy Beal says that: With this ruling — and if other judges follow suit — it will make it easier for [...]

By: Brennan

Brennan — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:11:22 +0000

I think it is a good ruling but this definitely needs to be taken on a case by case basis. Right now the internet is the wild west where anyone can say anything and hide behind anonymity. If someone has real journalism that cites sources and facts then they should be able to protect sources and protect their real names with pen names but someone who writes a blog just to harass and slander then they should be outed. .-= Brennan´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.

By: “Landmark Ruling: Judge Orders Google to Hand Over Identity of Anonymous Blogger” and related posts - KuASha Organization

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:03 +0000

[...] Details about this technology news can be found here @ http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/08/landmark-ruling-ju dge-orders-google-t… [...]

By: Buck Stops Here

Buck Stops Here — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:04:04 +0000

As a victim of cyber crimes this ruling is fantastic news! I, too, will contact my attorney tomorrow regarding malicious posts written about me by a deranged, psychotic lesbian!

By: Marketing Manager

Marketing Manager — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:50:36 +0000

Hello,

I applaud you for covering this article. Just as there is a line between real journalism (which must include the reporting of accurate facts and balanced coverage) and libel/slander, there must also be a line as to how a subject/topic is covered or presented in the social media/micro-blogging domain. The medium should not be devoid of laws and guidelines that govern other media.

By: Michael Martinez

Michael Martinez — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:25:36 +0000

It’s unfortunate that people still have to finance expensive court costs in order to get ISPs to reveal the information in their logs in cases of clear defamation. I remember approaching an ISP about 10 years ago concerning defamatory remarks one of their clients had made about me. They told me they would take action (to enforce their terms of service) when I won a defamation judgment. Several attorneys looking at the situation told me they thought I had an ironclad case — and it would cost me $5,000 to $20,000 to prove that in court.

In advance.

With privacy advocates hammering on services like Google to shed their data more quickly, anti-defamation advocates need to step up to the plate and start hammering on ISPs to be more cooperative in enforcing their terms of service.

Too many TOS violations are still ignored or magically transformed into DMCA takedown requests when ISP customers break the law. That bad ISP behavior needs to change.