Yale Students' Lawsuit Unmasks Anonymous Trolls

palegray.net writes "Two female Yale law school students have used the courts to ascertain the identities of otherwise anonymous posters to an Internet forum, with the intent of prosecuting them for hateful remarks left on the boards. At a minimum, the posters' future legal careers are certainly jeopardized by these events. While I'm not certainly not supporting or encouraging hateful speech online, these controversial actions hold potentially far-reaching consequences for Internet privacy policy and free speech." According to the linked Wired Law article, "The women themselves have gone silent, and their lawyers — two of whom are now themselves being sued — are not talking to the press."

Comments

womens' rights more important

[nickhart]

This sort of "speech" should not be tolerated anywhere. Womens' rights and their safety is far more important than the "right" for misogynists to remain anonymous. Allowing them to remain anonymous is a tacit acceptance of allowing hateful speech and the fostering of anti-women attitudes (at the school and in society as a whole). The concrete harm done to these women (and women in general) trumps the abstract "harm" to the troglodytes who posted the messages.