'Skank' blogger to sue Google
A dangerous precedent or much needed ruling ??
Rosemary Port, a blogger who called a former Vogue model a "skank", has said she plans to sue Google for $15 million for allegedly failing to protect her privacy after the company was ordered to reveal her name to a court in New York.
LIskula Cohen sued to have the blogger identified, arguing that the comments on the site were defamatory.
The 29-year-old fashion student was named as a result of a court case brought by the Canadian-born model Liskula Cohen, 37, who was angry that she had been called a series of offensive names on Miss Port's blog last year and threatened to sue her for defamation.
Miss Cohen won a landmark court ruling last week when a Manhattan judge said the author of the comments should be unmasked and asked Google, which owns Blogger.com the website that hosted the Skanks of NYC blog, to identify the anonymous author.
Google maintains that users agree to a privacy policy that allows the company to share personal information if required by a court.
"This has become a public spectacle and a circus that is not my doing," said Miss Port.
"Before her suit, there were probably two hits on my website. One from me looking at it, and one from her looking at it.
"That was before it became a spectacle. I feel my right to privacy has been violated."
A Manhattan Supreme Court judge forced Google to unmask Miss Port, rejecting Port's claim that blogs "serve as a modern-day forum for conveying personal opinions, including invective and ranting" and should not be regarded as fact.
Telegraph
britexpat, now I understand. Thank you for clarifying. Well if it was such a case, then it would be handled differently. Like in KSA or any other country where freedom of speech isn't allowed, and Qatar is included into that batch, when they are allowed to speak, they are punished and tortured when questioned. Why put yourself in such a situation? Does the internet give you muscles you not dare to use in real life?
~*Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret*~
It is to be seen on a more case to case basis. People speaking out against opression may be kept secret but you can't abuse someone using their name publically and then plead for your own privacy.
" Dont take life too seriously, you will never get out alive!!!"
I meant that in many countries where people are suppressed or do not have access to free news, the bloggers act as information providers and also bring people together for certain causes.
britexpat, could you elaborate please?
~*Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret*~
I agree that there should be guidelines .. I was thinking more of say in China, where bloggers use anonymity to highlight abuse and inform people..
britexpat, free speech by bashing other people? That ethically isn't correct, don't you agree? Since the blogger blogged it to the public, then they have to deal with the consequences.
~*Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret*~
But, in order to promote free speech, should the identity of the blogger be protected ?
If you want privacy, you buy a diary and write down your thoughts. When it is online, it never was, is, or will be private - ever.
~*Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret*~
This is bad... Bloggers will now actually have to state facts only.. Where's the fun in that ?
Scary... I write a lot of crap in many other forums under anonymous...lol
I personally feel that google should not have revealed her identity.