Bloggers Beware!

Bloggers Busted By Courts

Author(s): Michelle Fabio, Esq.
November 2009

While we can be thankful that the right to freedom of speech allows us to share our opinions through blogging, we may not have the luxury of doing so anonymously. Until recently, many bloggers and blog commenters assumed that if they wrote under an alias or anonymity, their comments couldn't be traced to them. In light of recent court rulings though, bloggers should think twice about how they exercise their perceived freedom of speech.......

Read the whole article here:

http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-articles/bloggers-busted-by-courts.html?cm_mmc_o=wFzbkCjCEwclkwffwyCjCEBMi9EwclCjCb55AzyfvP&&spMailingID=2759137&spUserID=NDE3MjQwMDAyNQS2&spJobID=78788633&spReportId=Nzg3ODg2MzMS1

Looking Toward the Future

So what is the future of anonymous blogging? Well, if these two decisions mark the beginning of a new trend regarding anonymous Internet communications, the overriding rule must be "Blogger Beware."

You'll still be free to express your opinions on blogs and through online communications, but remember that just because the medium has changed doesn't mean the laws of defamation have. Or, in other words, don't post things that could be actionable in a court of law-because even if you think you're writing anonymously, they still may be actionable.

For more information visit:

"Court Compromises on Request to Unmask Blogger" by Wendy Davis, September 16, 2009

Citizen Media Law Project

Electronic Frontier Foundation