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MD Appellate Ct. Sets "New Standard" For Anonymous Posting

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the or-you-could-just-clean-the-place-up dept.

A Maryland court of appeals has set what they are calling a new "standard that should be applied to balance the First Amendment right to anonymous speech on the Internet with the opportunity on the part of the object of that speech to seek judicial redress for alleged defamation." The court overturned an earlier ruling that would have required NewsZap.com to turn over the names of anonymous posters who posted negative remarks about the cleanliness of a Centreville Dunkin' Donuts. "In a defamation case involving anonymous speakers, the ruling said, courts should first require the plaintiff to try to notify the anonymous posters that they are the subject of a subpoena. That notification could come in the form of a message posted to the online forum in question, and the posters must be given sufficient time to respond. The plaintiff must then hand over the exact statements in question, so the court can decide whether the comments are obviously defamatory. Finally, the ruling says, the court must weigh the anonymous poster's right to free speech against the strength of the defamation case and the necessity of disclosing the poster's identity."

3 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Ah its Maryland... by tjstork · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    If they had invented the toothbrush anywhere but in Maryland, they would have called it the teethbrush.

    --
    This is my sig.
  2. Maryland Courts and the Law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I have lived in Maryland for around 10 years and have gone through around the same number of court cases. In that time I have learned that ONE DOES NOT FUCK WITH THE MARYLAND.

  3. Yanks: take note! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Dear Yankee pains-in-the-arse,

    The court overturned an earlier ruling that would have required NewsZap.com to turn over the names of anonymous posters who posted negative remarks about the cleanliness of a Centreville Dunkin' Donuts.

    Emphasis one's own. Notice the correct spelling of centre, it's not 'center' it's 'centre'. The most important part of this story is not anything to do with free speech, but that for once one of you confounded Yanks spelt centre correctly!

    Canadians manage to spell things correctly, why can't you? Get it right or I'll send in my ninja Corgis (with frikkin laser beams).

    Lots of love,
    Her Majesty the Queen.