In a First Amendment case with implications for everything from neighborhood e-mail lists to national newspapers, an Eastern Shore businessman argued to Maryland’s highest court yesterday that the host of an online forum should be forced to reveal the identities of people who posted allegedly defamatory comments.It is the first time the Maryland Court of Appeals has confronted the question of online anonymity, an issue that has surfaced in state and federal courts over the past few years as blogs and other online forums have increasingly become part of the national discourse.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120803405.htmlUS court tackles online anonymity
Be careful the next time you engage in an Internet flame war: it could land you in court.The Maryland Court of Appeals is taking up a case this week that could have major implications for Internet users’ ability to anonymously post their opinions on the Web. The case revolves around Zebulon Brodie, a Maryland businessman who is alleging that he has been defamed by anonymous Internet users who posted messages on a Web site owned by Independent Newspapers, a community newspaper company that owns local papers in Arizona, Delaware, Florida and Maryland.
http://computerworld.com.au/article/270367/
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/270367/
US Court Weighs Internet Anonymity
In a First Amendment case with implications for everything from neighborhood e-mail lists to national newspapers, an Eastern Shore businessman argued to Maryland’s highest court yesterday that the host of an online forum should be forced to reveal the identities of people who posted allegedly defamatory comments.