CMLP: Anonymity of online speakers protected in District of Columbia Court of Appeals
August 19th, 2009Posted by Judith Townend in Citizen journalism, Editors' pick, Legal
“Last Thursday, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals weighed in on what procedural safeguards are necessary to protect the rights of internet users to engage in anonymous speech,” reports the Citizen Media Law Project.
“In Solers, Inc. v. Doe, the D.C. high court set out a stringent standard for its lower courts to follow and emphasized that a plaintiff ‘must do more than simply plead his case’ to unmask an anonymous speaker claimed to have violated the law.”
This case involves an anonymous speaker ‘who did not publish the allegedly defamatory statements on a website, blog, or other online platform open to the public’, CMLP outlines. Instead, the claim involves an anonymous tip submitted through a website reporting form.
Tags: anonymous speaker, citizem media law project, cmlp, Columbia Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, internet-users, online platform, online speakers, solers, Solers Inc.
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August 19th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
[...] CMLP: Anonymity of online speakers protected in District of Columbia Court of Appeals [...]