A Victory For Cowardly Sock Puppets

[mandy]

Anonymous trolls on the Internet are allowed to remain anonymous, a judge in a California appeals court ruled yesterday. Not only that, but they're allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights and speak their minds, no matter how scathing their comments may be. The court opinion reversed a previous decision that would have allowed Lisa Krinsky, COO of a Florida-based drug service company, to subpoena 10 anonymous Yahoo message board posters' real names...

The appeals court acknowledged that the Wild West of the Internet is still bound by rules about libel, and that especially in the corporate and financial arena, people's reputations and entire companies can suffer damages as rumors spread over the 'Net. Still, the judge ruled that what Doe 6 had posted were not assertions of "actual fact" and therefore not actionable under Florida's defamation law, despite being "unquestionably offensive and demeaning." Therefore, Doe 6's statements are still protected under the First Amendment, and he is entitled to all costs involved in his appeal...

full article: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/200...s-too.html

related court rulings on anonymity: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/200...shers.html

[BellisimaJ.]

Still, the judge ruled that what Doe 6 had posted were not assertions of "actual fact" and therefore not actionable

While it's true that the postings have to be assertions of actual fact (not just in Florida) in order to be considered libelous, maybe the plaintiff simply needs a new lawyer.........

I find it interesting that many of these dirtbag stalkers/trolls don't realize that even a private conversation between two people, or  a comment on a private forum, can be cited as libel. Ya only have to say it once, to one other person, and you can be sued for it.