True Anonymity?
With the advent of the internet, we were all given something that when communicating in the past we had never really had: anonymity. But even so, is that truly the case? Internet technology still allows us the ability to pinpoint a user down to their computer, yet there is still no way to prove who exactly is interacting in a particular space. A recent case in New York found Richard Ottinger claiming defamation against some anonymous posts that were made against him on LoHud.com which Mr. Ottinger alleged were false regarding the renovation of his home in Mamaroneck.
Westchester County Court Judge Rory J. Bellantoni held that after Richard Ottinger and his wife notified the online contributors of their right to intervene anonymously and stated a prima facie case of defamation against the fictitiously named defendants, the couple had sufficiently satisfied the standard necessary to pierce the free speech rights of the writers who allegedly posted false comments about the Ottingers on a Web site operated by The Journal News.
After giving the anonymous posters on LoHud.com time to come forward and lay name to their claims, Judge Bellatoni then turned to the legalities of the Ottingers’ request to identify the writers by other means.
"There is no question that the First Amendment protects the right of a person to speak anonymously. That protection, however, is no greater than the right of a person to speak when their identity is known," the judge wrote in Ottinger v. The Journal News, 08-03892, a case of first impression in New York. He noted that Greenbaum v. Google Inc., 18 Misc.3d 185, 2007, constitutes the "only reported decision" in New York that addresses the rights of anonymous writers who post allegedly defamatory statements on the Internet.
The Ottingers’ lawyer has already received access to the internet protocol addresses that are associated with the defamation posts in question. Time will only tell if a person will be able to be linked to the accusations of defamation, or if the internet is truly as anonymous as we think it may be.
