Blogger Unmasked by New York Court
Type
E-journal
Date
8 Sep 2009
Jurisdiction
Lebanon, Greece, UK, Ukraine, USA
Taxonomy
Multi-Media, Privacy, Defamation, Data Protection, E-Liability, World Wide Web, Freedom of Information, Freedom of Expression
Copyright
LexisNexis
Associated digest links
Judge Lifts Veil of Secrecy from Blogger Who Called Model 'Skank' LNB News 20/08/2009 25
Analysis
The identity of an anonymous blogger who described a Vogue cover model as a ‘skank' on the internet has been revealed by Google following an order by a New York Court. Libel and media expert Mark Stephens discusses the issues with Grania Langdon-Down
The model Liskula Cohen decided not to pursue a defamation action against the blogger Rosemary Port, saying she was relieved it was not someone close to her. However, Port, a fashion student who had been using Google's Blogger.com programme, then threatened to sue the internet search company for $15m for failing to protect her right to privacy.
Stephens, a partner with City law firm Finers Stephens Innocent, says the blogger's threat is "complete nonsense. Google had to comply with the court order."