No More Anonymity for Bloggers... sorry kids

So there was this blog, hosted by Google's blogger (just like this one that no one is reading right now) where this person anonymously trashed a model named Liskula Cohen. The title of said blog was the uber classy Skanks of New York. Terrible title for your site, but still better than the two rotten cruds I use. Anyway.

So Ms (Mrs? I'd look it up but I'm lazy) Cohen decides she doesn't like getting the Skank treatment and sues. But whom does she sue? The writer of the Skank page is unknown. What's a libeled fashion model to do? Smartly she goes after the company that hosts the skank site in an attempt to out the author so that she can sue the right person.

A judge (again, too lazy to get the specifics, like a name or a court) rules in favor of Ms Cohen and forces Google to unveil the author's name, Rosemary Port.

Ms Port then decides to sue Google:

“When I was being defended by attorneys for Google, I thought my right to privacy was being protected … Inherent in the First Amendment is the right to speak anonymously. Shouldn’t that right extend to the new public square of the Internet?”

I think you're out of line Ms Port. First of all, you have the right to free speech but you do not have the right to lie. Only Fox News, politicians, and baseball players caught using steroids have that right. Secondly, doesn't Ms Cohen have the right to face her accuser? I know the 6th amendment refers to court cases, but shouldn't that right extend to the court of public opinion? At least in cases like this where whether she is a skank or not can affect her profession? Who wants to book a skank for a photo shoot? Okay, well some magazines would gladly book skanks for photo shoots, but they are generally kept at the back or the store or in brown paper bags.

Okay, so I am getting off the point. The point is, if you want to write anonymously go ahead and do it. Have fun with it. Hell, Benjamin Franklin did it all the time. Just don't expect that your anonymity gives you the right to commit libel. If you are going to go after some one make sure you have evidence to back up your claims, and don't expect your hosting service to be your white knight and break the law so that you continue to break the law anonymously. It was a judge who told Google to out you. A judge. Do you understand that? It was a judge. Not a lawyer, not a reporter, not a politician... it was a judge. Did you really think that Google would ignore a ruling from the bench in order to let you continue to commit libel on your little blog?

If being anonymous is fun for you then go ahead and enjoy it. Just don't use it as a shield against responsibility. You still have to play by the rules. If you don't then you're going to have your anonymity taken away from you. Rightfully so.

I'm tired of writing this post now so I am going to stop right here.



http://mashable.com/2009/08/24/skanks-of-new-york-lawsuit/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_amendment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Amendment