Re: 5/7/01 - [MTNX] EFF.org: EFF Moves to Protect Anonymity of Online Speech
EFF Moves to Protect Anonymity of Onlin
by: effdc 05/07/01 10:18 pm EDT
Msg: 4145 of 4163
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 7, 2001
Contact:
Lauren Gelman, EFF Public Policy Director, gelman@eff.org
Robert C. Holtzapple, Farella, Braun & Martel, bholtzapple@fbm.com
EFF Moves to Protect Anonymity of Online Speech
Defends Critics of Failing dot Com Company
May 7, 2001 -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with San Francisco law firm Farella, Braun & Martel, today filed a motion in the Federal District Court in the Northern District of California to defend the right of anonymous critics to express their views online without fear of arbitrary disclosure of their identity. The motion seeks to prevent an Idaho company called Medinex Systems, Inc. from learning the identities of 14 John Does who participated on a Yahoo! message board devoted to discussions about the company.
Medinex sued the John Does, identified by their screen names such as zippershut", "awe2bad4mdnx", and "dotcommie2000", after they made remarks critical of the company on Yahoo! message boards. Medinex stock has dropped precipitously in the past few months and is allegedly on the verge of being dropped from the NASDAQ exchange for non-compliance with NASDAQ's $1 minimum bid price requirement.
The critics, some self-identified as shareholders and employees of the company, stated their opinions about the mismanagement of the company and other factors leading to its financial difficulties. Medinex alleged defamation, tortious interference with business relationship and wrongful interference with a prospective economic advantage. The company then issued a subpoena to Yahoo! in California seeking the identities of their critics without first proving any illegal actions.
"This case is another in a disturbing trend where failing dot com companies seek to silence their critics using the civil discovery process," said Lauren Gelman, Public Policy Director for EFF. "We are hopeful that this court will agree with a recent Seattle District Court decision stating unequivocally that the First Amendment protects anonymous online speech." Gelman referred to a case entitled In re 2theMart.com, in which the court quashed a subpoena seeking the identity of Internet posters on an Infospace message board after a motion brought by the EFF and the ACLU of Washington.
"These people were simply expressing their opinions. Unfounded subpoenas such as these chill everyone's speech on the Internet. Since some of the Does claim to be employees, we are also worried that Medinex has brought this suit in order to identify and retaliate against them, rather than because of any real defamation," added Robert Holtzapple of Farella, Braun and Martel,which is handling the matter pro bono.
Background materials about this case are available on the EFF website at:
eff.org
Materials concerning the 2TheMart case are available at: eff.org
The Electronic Frontier Foundation ( eff.org ) is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most-linked-to websites in the world.
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