Is anonymous speech a right?

In my last post, I talked about the 2TheMart.comInc. case where disgruntled shareholders let their gripes about the company be know anonymously over the internet.  In that case the court came up with a four-part test that would allow for subpoena to be issued in order to find the identity of an anonymous poster.  This was the test:  “(1) the subpoena seeking the information was issued in good faith and not for any improper purpose; (2) the information sought relates to a core claim or defense; (3) the identifying information that is directly and materially relevant to that claim or defense, and (4) information sufficient to establish or to disprove that claim or defense is unavailable from any other source.”  


2TheMart.com was denied the request for the subpoena because it was determined that if the identity of the posters were determined, it would only lead to intimidation in order to keep them quiet.  It could also put their role in the company in jeopardy. 


If a defamatory claim is made, the plaintiff must prove that the statements are in fact defamation.  Once this is done, the four part test above must be satisfied.  This test does seem rather difficult to satisfy, but it is nonetheless possible.  Do our first amendment rights allow us to speak freely and anonymously on the internet without the possibility of criminal action?  Would this lead to a "chilling" effect on our freedom on the internet?  I am not sure at this point in time because constructive criticism can be beneficial to all and if done anonymously, it will not have negative consequences for the poster.  However, I do not feel that grossly defamatory lies have protection to remain anonymous.  

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.  

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.  

Will our future leaders have a clean past?

I think that it all started for me when I was a freshman in college.  I had used various posting and messaging sites in the past such as Xanga, Myspace, and AIM, but none of these would compare to Facebook.  I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon during the initial stages, when all you could have was a picture and a brief description of yourself.  Now, Facebook has exploded into cultural phenomenon that touches most of our lives.

Some people use it as a networking and information tool, with others use it to put their social exploits on display for all to see.  Many people have very outspoken opinions that they place upon Facebook or Twitter.  My question is whether or not we will have leaders in the future that can have a clean slate when we live in a technological world that makes our viewpoints so transparent.  Our First Amendment Rights and the heightened sense of security that we feel in front of a computer make it very easy to make a lot of social judgements that may come back to haunt us at a later point.  I feel that we have all come a long way in realizing that what we display on the internet will possibly be with us forever, but our freedom of speech may get the best of us.