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Philadelphia Judge Issues Ruling That Could Give Anonymous Online Commenters Second Thoughts
CBS ^ | 03-08-2014 | Pat Loeb

Posted on 03/08/2014 7:18:35 AM PST by PaulCruz2016

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia judge has ordered philly.com to reveal the name of an anonymous commenter, in a defamation suit brought by electricians’ union leader John Dougherty.

An attorney in the case says it could have a broad impact on incendiary online comments and those users, sometimes called “trolls,” who post them anonymously.

The anonymous defendant in the suit, disguised by the nonsense name “fbpdplt,” called Dougherty a name in the comments section of an article on the website, one of the properties in the media group that also owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News.

(Excerpt) Read more at philadelphia.cbslocal.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: firstamendment; internet; johndougherty; judge; online; pennsylvania; philadelphia
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To: humblegunner
Her fan boys sling the term with equal ease.

Always figured you for a MomJeans fanboy, bumble. :-)

41 posted on 03/08/2014 8:13:28 AM PST by kiryandil (turning Americans into felons, one obnoxious drunk at a time (Zero Tolerance!!!))
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To: PaulCruz2016

It is always a good idea to review what you are posting and ask yourself “Would I post that if I had to put my real name to it?” Unless you are very clever and go to a great deal of trouble you identity is within easy reach of any seriously interested party. Always keep that in mind when communicating via modern communication devices. You are not anonymous and your message will be recorded.


42 posted on 03/08/2014 8:15:28 AM PST by jpsb (Believe nothing until it has been officially denied)
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To: PaulCruz2016
The anonymous defendant in the suit, disguised by the nonsense name “fbpdplt,” called Dougherty a name in the comments section of an article on the website, one of the properties in the media group that also owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. The website is not a party to the suit but it received a subpoena, more than a year ago, for information on the commenter.

Knowing the recent history of certain union thugs, I have no doubt these bastards would like to know where this poster lives so they can give him a beating or kill him.

Unions have a sordid history of thuggery with respect to any opposition. The opposition in this case is that the poster "called him a name". Really? That's it? I have a suspicion there is something deeper going on here. Perhaps the poster said something that shows he has deeper knowledge of some malfeasance on the part of the union, and the union would like to know where he lives, so they can "talk" to him.

You know, back about 200 years ago, when this country had actual freedom and rights, there was a whole cottage industry printing anonymous pamphleteers; the most famous being Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Of course nowadays, those elitists in power don't want to relinquish that power, and will use any means necessary to quash dissent.

I'm sure if they could, the elitists would like the internet to have never been invented. Come to think of it, I'm sure the Monarchies of Europe at the time wish the printing press had never been invented. Throughout time, groundbreaking inventions have been trying to set men free, and those in power have always tried to keep men in chains.

43 posted on 03/08/2014 8:17:45 AM PST by Flick Lives ("I can't believe it's not Fascism!")
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To: Gen.Blather
It appears they have a judge’s order. Also, most operations automatically cooperate with the police, no warrant required. A coworker was murdered. The cops called the local phone company and got a list of the phones that had been in the house at the time. They had the culprits in hours. I find it hard to believe they got a warrant.

This is a civil case and a weak one at that. It's much different than the capital crime you described. They only have a court order to reveal the name of the offender and possibly> the logged IP address at philly.com. The name could be anything so I would guess they went after the IP address too. It the name is just a garbled mess, they would have to get another court order for the ISP to release the personal info of the offender if the person posted from home. That means more money from the plaintiff.
44 posted on 03/08/2014 8:18:12 AM PST by nonamer
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To: All

This is why I use Tor.

It prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location.

https://www.torproject.org/


45 posted on 03/08/2014 8:20:36 AM PST by ThE_RiPpEr.
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To: PaulCruz2016

I’m right here, ol’ judge ol’ bubbela!


46 posted on 03/08/2014 8:20:50 AM PST by Terry L Smith
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To: Gen.Blather

What’s to say you’re not typing away at some cafe with wifi?

I don’t see how you can stop a person from expressing an anonymous criticism of a union thug. In fact, I encourage it.


47 posted on 03/08/2014 8:23:43 AM PST by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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To: Flick Lives

I saw it averred here that it was something worse than a “name” i.e. it was a specific kind of sex offender that, for now, the world still cares about.


48 posted on 03/08/2014 8:24:31 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: jpsb
It is always a good idea to review what you are posting and ask yourself “Would I post that if I had to put my real name to it?”

Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; [unless the peasant responsible refuses to put his real name on it]...

Fixed it for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

49 posted on 03/08/2014 8:24:46 AM PST by kiryandil (turning Americans into felons, one obnoxious drunk at a time (Zero Tolerance!!!))
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

No they need much more than that. See my post #47.


50 posted on 03/08/2014 8:24:55 AM PST by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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To: Hostage

As long as you have good reason to believe it true. Fanciful accusations, even if they don’t get you in trouble, can ruin your credibility.


51 posted on 03/08/2014 8:25:48 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: kiryandil

We don’t want the government to be a nanny-all. We shouldn’t try to ban every bad thing.


52 posted on 03/08/2014 8:27:04 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

If one is anonymous, credibility is irrelevant. If one is a longtime poster on some forum or news website, then credibility is relevant.

But trolls are mostly hit and run types.

If someone is firing away at a union thug, I’ll back him even if he doesn’t know how to shoot straight because he’s in my platoon. I may chew him out but I won’t hand him over to the bastards on the other side.


53 posted on 03/08/2014 8:29:54 AM PST by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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To: Hostage

“What’s to say you’re not typing away at some cafe with wifi?”

I think your computer still advertises its address, otherwise how would you get email?

The BTK killer was sending taunting emails to the police and they actually nailed him in the process at his churches’ PC. But, they’d have equally nailed him at McDonald’s.


54 posted on 03/08/2014 8:31:26 AM PST by Gen.Blather
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To: Hostage

There’s a difference between discipline and betrayal, I agree.


55 posted on 03/08/2014 8:34:00 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Gen.Blather

Well, maybe, they’d have to catch him being online then quickly trace it to where he was before he left. Difficult? maybe; impossible? no.


56 posted on 03/08/2014 8:35:36 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: kiryandil
Freedom of speech does not mean that you are free to slander someone. It protects you from criminal prosecution by government. Individuals can sue you for slander if you falsely accuse them and employers can fire you if you embarrass them.

There is of course a time to be anonymous, when exposing a powerful entity of criminal behavior. Usually that is done via leaking info to an interested press. If the "troll" wishes to accuse someone of being a pedophile then he should put his name to the charge and back it up with evidence.

57 posted on 03/08/2014 8:53:53 AM PST by jpsb (Believe nothing until it has been officially denied)
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To: PaulCruz2016

This one is easy. Websites can simply refrain from requesting the real names of their members for commenting on forums. Then it would go down to investigating from the ISP to the websites, and finding out who the subscriber of the internet connection is from where the comment originated, but that can’t be sufficient for naming someone to sue in court for slander, ect.

I can’t imagine a plaintiff reward based on someone making a comment using someone elses internet connection to do it, under current law anyway. This isn’t the same as illegally downloading copyrighted material where the internet subscriber is responsible. There would have to be more evidence, such as camera footage of someone using the workstation it came from at that specific time from the internet subscriber’s location. Then again, I’m no lawyer, and I DIDN’T stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.....


58 posted on 03/08/2014 8:54:09 AM PST by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: PaulCruz2016

“They get the IP address and use it to identify the person responsible. Even behind a proxy, they can still track you down.”

Personal VPN will take care of that.


59 posted on 03/08/2014 8:58:35 AM PST by LaRueLaDue
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To: jpsb
You're very well-trained. LOL!

You'd think someone who was here for LAT & WP vs FR would understand what's going on in this case. The union guy could care less what he was called. The point is to get a court ruling as a precedent.

Haven't you noticed all the different "news" websites forcing the commenters onto Facebook? why do you suppose that is?

60 posted on 03/08/2014 8:58:37 AM PST by kiryandil (turning Americans into felons, one obnoxious drunk at a time (Zero Tolerance!!!))
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