Re: 11/15/00 - Newbytes: Pa. Online Net Criticism Case To Continue
Pa. Online Net Criticism Case To Continue
By Robert MacMillan, Newsbytes
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A.,
15 Nov 2000, 6:10 PM CST
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today praised a Pennsylvania state court judge's ruling that public officials and others cannot use "frivolous defamation lawsuits" to discover their online critics' identities, but noted that it failed to get the original case against an anonymous online critic dismissed.
The case stems from Allegheny County State Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin's lawsuit against an anonymous Internet critic who suggested on a Web site that she lobbied on behalf of an attorney who was seeking a judgeship.
Melvin's case will go ahead in Pennsylvania, but the judge noted that the defendant's identity will be subjected to a protective order, because "any ruling that does not fully protect the anonymity of the anonymous Internet speaker may deter anonymous Internet speech."
The ACLU said it may appeal the decision to keep the case alive.
Melvin originally wanted to file a lawsuit in Loudoun County, Va., because America Online Inc., hosted the site, "Grant Street Website," that posted the allegation.
Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne ruled in June 1999 that Melvin could not file the lawsuit in Virginia, despite AOL's location there.
Pennsylvania Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr., in his ruling said that "anonymous Internet speakers, unlike the national media, are vulnerable because they lack power or money. Without anonymity, speakers will be less willing to express controversial opinions because of fears of reprisal."
Wettick also ruled that the defendant's identity may not be revealed until the speaker "has had an opportunity to prove that the defamation lawsuit is without merit," according to an ACLU statement.
ACLU's Pittsburgh chapter director, Witold "Vic" Walczak, said that the ruling's importance is "clear when you consider the thousands of anonymous people online right now who are criticizing the Florida public officials in the election controversy."
Reported by Newsbytes.com, newsbytes.com .
18:10 CST
newsbytes.com |
