anonymity

Andy Grim, a reporter for the Times-Picayune, reports that the Fifth Circuit appeared reluctant "to weigh in on the issue of First Amendment rights of anonymous online commenters" during oral argument on the issue Thursday. A lower court judge ordered the newspaper to turn over information about a pair of anonymous commenters on its website, Grim said. The defendant thought it could show that federal prosecutors were making comments about her case. A new trial was granted to five police officers convicted in post-Hurricane Katrina shootings.

Andy Grim, a reporter for the Times-Picayune, reports that the Fifth Circuit appeared reluctant "to weigh in on the issue of First Amendment rights of anonymous online commenters" during oral argument on the issue Thursday. A lower court judge ordered the newspaper to turn over information about a pair of anonymous commenters on its website, Grim said. The defendant thought it could show that federal prosecutors were making comments about her case. A new trial was granted to five police officers convicted in post-Hurricane Katrina shootings.

The Fifth Circuit has rejected a newspaper's appeal against revealing identifying information about people who posted anonymous comments on its website, The National Law Journal's Mike Scarcella reports. The Times-Picayune has to disclose the information to a federal magistrate judge to review confidentially. The issue has arisen in the prosecution of a former New Orleans official. The defense alleges that the two anonymous posters are federal prosecutors. The newspaper's counsel said in court papers the order "implicates the important First Amendment right to engage in anonymous speech," the National Law Journal further reports.

A Virginia carpet cleaner allowed a rug cleaner to subpoena Yelp about the identities of negative reviewers of its business, The Raw Story reports. The carpet cleaner argues its business rival made the reviews. Yelp was found in contempt of court for not complying, and the Virginia Court of Appeals heard oral argument in the case this week. Advocacy group Public Citizen explains, according to The Raw Story, '“courts elsewhere have recognized that before stripping the defendant of a First Amendment right, they should take an early look at the case to confirm that the speaker’s statement appears to be false and defamatory, such that the company’s claim is viable. In this appeal, where the users’ original claims about [carpet cleaner] Hadeed’s practices are echoed by dozens of other users whose reviews have not been challenged as defamatory, Yelp urges Virginia to adopt that approach.”'