If someone wishes to file a libel lawsuit against a anonymous person, they could file it against "John Doe" and then subpoena the internet service provider to try to find the person that made the offensive post. There has only been one federal case on this subject, and that is the Doe v. 2TheMart.com case. It was found through this case that it is in the best interest of all to allow free speech on the internet, but it did give a four-part test that would allow the disclosure of the identity of the internet user. In further posts I will discuss this topic, but for the time being I will ponder whether or not anonymity should be allowed and protected on the internet.
My name is Alex Nisbet and I am a second year student at the University of North Dakota School of Law. This is my blog for one of my classes, First Amendment in the Digital Age.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Internet Libel
Over the past several years, placing libel charges on an individual or a group of people that made posts on the internet has become more commonplace. When we go on the internet, we feel more empowered to say things that we normally would not in face-to-face interactions, but these statements can still come back to haunt us. If the person that committed the libel is known, the suit will move forward in the same way as a normal libel lawsuit would. The suit, however, gets interesting if the poster that made the comment did so anonymously.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Anonymity is one of the great things about the internet. It gives people who are typically quiet, shy, etc the opportunity to say something without worrying. Having said that, it also allows ridiculous things to be said. When people anonymously speak their minds, there is no filter to what they say. In the example of commenting on blogs, you can moderate comments so that can be policed. But I agree that there needs to be some accountability for what we say online. What were the facts of Doe v. 2TheMart.com?
ReplyDelete