Beware, anonymous hordes of the internet. Next time you say something nasty about someone online, your identity could be revealed. That’s what a judge in Indiana ruled recently in a defamation case against the The Indianapolis Star. The lawsuit was filed by Jeffrey Miller, an executive at something called Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, who didn’t like what some people were saying about him on Star comment boards.
The ruling forced The Star to turn over info like IP addresses and internet providers, after which an attorney can subpoena the provider for real names. While it’s a win for Mr. Miller, others are thinking about the wider implications of the case, mainly whether this will have a chilling effect on speech on the internet. The Star points out the possible ramifications:
“We are seeing more and more defamation lawsuits being filed, that’s clear,” said David Hudson, a First Amendment scholar at the First Amendment Center, affiliated with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. Hudson said the public should be concerned if anonymous comments on public websites begin drying up because of the fear of lawsuits. “If this happens, then people will be less likely to comment” on public issues, he said.
That certainly could be true. If people feel like they are going to get sued for defamation, they certainly would think twice about writing something on a message board. At the same the time, having no legal recourse when getting defamed isn’t so great either. Miller’s attorney Kevin Betz defended the decision: “This is not an assault on the shield law … In fact, it is well within the bounds of the traditional terms of the shield law … I don’t think these people are advancing any cause of democracy or purposeful free speech.”
So, what’s more important? Allowing people to express their opinions anonymously? Or protecting people from being defamed? All in all, I think we as a society should err on the side of openness and free speech, but then again I’ve never been defamed online before. What do you think, anonymous internet commenters?
I always use my real name. If you do not have the courage to stand up for what you are writing, then you shouldn’t say it and people should not read or care about those opinions.
I also consume alot of dick in my spare time.
I think that suing someone over “defamation” is childish. In this day and age, people should be able to express what they feel without fear. (If what they said was inappropriate, the website’s staff can always ban the user’s IP or remove the comment.) Slippery slope.
/b/
Amen.
You can post anything if it is true.But you are committing a defamation if you are posting something that is false and ruins the person’s fame. If you know for sure somebody bribes, or is a murder, or whatever, you can report it to the officials, or post the information online without giving your name. The person you defamed surely has the right to defend him/herself. But if it is not the truth, you will be the one who commits a criminal of defamation and should be punished. No matter whether you think it is just a joke, if your false post has an negative effect on the person you posted about, you are doing defamation . In China, there is a anonymous reporting system in which anyone can report to the law officials on bad people and bad things with evidence. You can’t just say that one person is likely a criminal without any evidence. Nobody will take seriously about it. Some of reports were definitely lies and defamation. Short investigation can determine that. In that case, nobody is accused anything. But if the short investigation determines that there is a need to further investigation, the person who has been reported will be openly investigated, and if the report is true, then the reported person will be punished.So I would say that if the person (in JA) posted about Jeff Miller has gut with evidence, he would have been the person who filed a lawsuit against Jeff Miller. He obviously has no gut to file an official lawsuit, but post non-sense and hurtful defamation about Jeff Miller. So I say this person who posted the comment is not counted as an honest person.