Ne007
October 9th, 2005, 04:02 PM
The Register -
In a victory for free speech on the internet, the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling that a council official, suing over remarks posted online by an unknown blogger, could force the blogger’s ISP to reveal his identity.
The official first had to prove that the remarks were capable of a defamatory meaning – and he had not, said the Court.
The case concerned postings by “Proud Citizen”, an anonymous blogger on a local website known as the Smyrna/Clayton Issues Blog, in September last year.
Proud Citizen called into question the abilities of Smyrna Town Council member Patrick Cahill, referring to his alleged “character flaws”, “mental deterioration”, “failed leadership” and describing him at one point as “Gahill”.
In November 2004, Cahill and his wife sued the blogger, described as John Doe No 1 in the court papers, and three other anonymous bloggers, claiming that John Doe No 1 had accused Cahill of suffering from “mental defects and diseases” and that the misspelling of his name implied he was “engaging in extramarital, homosexual affairs.”
Read the Rest:
http://www.theregister.com/2005/10/07/isp_blogger_identity_ruling/
In a victory for free speech on the internet, the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling that a council official, suing over remarks posted online by an unknown blogger, could force the blogger’s ISP to reveal his identity.
The official first had to prove that the remarks were capable of a defamatory meaning – and he had not, said the Court.
The case concerned postings by “Proud Citizen”, an anonymous blogger on a local website known as the Smyrna/Clayton Issues Blog, in September last year.
Proud Citizen called into question the abilities of Smyrna Town Council member Patrick Cahill, referring to his alleged “character flaws”, “mental deterioration”, “failed leadership” and describing him at one point as “Gahill”.
In November 2004, Cahill and his wife sued the blogger, described as John Doe No 1 in the court papers, and three other anonymous bloggers, claiming that John Doe No 1 had accused Cahill of suffering from “mental defects and diseases” and that the misspelling of his name implied he was “engaging in extramarital, homosexual affairs.”
Read the Rest:
http://www.theregister.com/2005/10/07/isp_blogger_identity_ruling/