Anonymity at Stake?
Model Liskula Cohen is suing Google for the identity of a blogger who posted some comments about her that she deems defamatory. What does this mean for writers?
This particular case probably doesn’t mean much. It’s a small blog with a few posts, and it does not have great political or cultural importance, in my opinion. And Google appears to be committed to maintaining anonymity unless ordered by the court to reveal a blogger’s identity.
However, there are more interesting cases out there that could change the rules for anonymity on the web. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press posted a piece a few months back discussing court cases and issues related to anonymity on the web: http://www.rcfp.org/news/mag/32-4/guarding_the_unnamed_writers_of_the_internet_34.html.
It makes for interesting reading, and leads me to ask some interesting questions. In what circumstances would you post anonymously? What protection would you expect? What protection would offer a source of information?
I’m particularly interested in the use of shield laws to protect commenters on media websites. One of my earliest memories of journalism (as shown on tv) was when Mary Richards went to jail to protect her source. I loved Mary Tyler Moore, and I think her portrayal of a groundbreaking female in the media are a big reason I was drawn to journalism as a field of study. I always wanted to write something important enough that I might have to go to jail to protect an anonymous source.
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Categories: Uncategorized, writing