Groups seek to protect anonymous Net speech

From...

by James Evans

(IDG) -- InfoSpace, a provider of Internet infrastructure services, should not have to disclose the identity of an individual who posted anonymous messages on a financial bulletin board, cyber-rights and civil liberty organizations said this week.

A subpoena request from 2TheMart.com would force InfoSpace to identify the individual, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a legal brief on Monday in a federal court in Seattle asking the court to quash the request, citing the right for anonymous speech.

2TheMart.com, a former online auction house that is now in the process of selling its assets, is seeking the names of 23 individuals who posted messages anonymously about the company on the Silicon Investor Web site owned by InfoSpace, said Keith B. Bardellini, an attorney at the Los Angeles law firm Buchalter, Nemer, Fields, & Younger, who is representing 2TheMart.com.

Bardellini alleges that certain unidentified posters on the InfoSpace financial bulletin board manipulated the company's stock.

IDG.net INFOCENTER InfoWorld Main Page InfoWorld Test Center Subscribe to InfoWorld Newsletters Infoworld Opinions and Spotlights Related IDG.net Stories ACLU blasts library filtering legislation InfoSpace CEO, COO, CFO depart Groups seek to protect anonymous Net posters Features Top 10 rules for e-business success Bluetooth wireless connectivity set to take off DSL in distress Visit an IDG site Choose a site: IDG.net CIO Computerworld Darwin Dummies.com GamePro.com The Industry Standard ITWorld.com InfoWorld.com JavaWorld LinuxWorld Macworld Online Network World Fusion PC World Publish.com SunWorld IDG.net search

"I am looking at the effect of the postings on securities," Bardellini said. "I know these are people doing bad things, doing felonies, shorting stocks, and doing bad things."

The ACLU and EFF argue that anonymous free speech must be protected in order to promote a diversity of viewpoints. The right to speak anonymously on an Internet bulletin board should be upheld just as the right to distribute a leaflet using a pseudonym, said Aaron Caplan, staff attorney for the ACLU, in a statement.

Similar cases have emerged in recent months where companies or individuals through legal channels seek to unmask users who use the Net under pseudonyms. Typically, Internet companies such as Yahoo and AOL Time Warner's America Online unit will release user information if a subpoena is issued and not challenged.

Earlier this month, the EFF represented individuals whose names were being sought by private fire and ambulance service provider Rural/Metro. The individuals allegedly posted comments anonymously that shared insider information about Rural/Metro on a Yahoo message board.

Costa Mesa, Calif.-based 2TheMart.com; Dominic Magliarditi, who held the posts of COO, CFO, secretary, and director; and the company's former CEO, Steven W. Rebeil, are facing a class-action security fraud lawsuit. Several investors sued the company after its stock plunged in 1999. In its most recent annual report, the company said the allegations were "without merit." 2TheMart.com has asked for InfoSpace user names as part of the case.

This case is a bit different than other subpoena cases because 2TheMart.com did not disclose on its court filings why it sought the real names of the InfoSpace bulletin board users, said Lauren Gelman, an EFF spokeswoman.

"All the subpoena says is 'Hand over the information,'" she said. "There is no allegation of wrongdoing."

But Bardellini said standard federal subpoena forms do not ask for the reason for the information.

"I want to correlate the individuals with their trading habits," Bardellini said. "In other words, I believe there was market manipulation going on. I know it was going on."

The EFF and ACLU argue that the court should adopt the same test currently used to determine whether to compel identification of anonymous journalists' sources or members of private organizations. Under the test, the court must first determine whether the individual seeking the protected private information has a genuine need for the information and cannot discover the information any other way, according to the organizations.

"We are going to continue to pursue this until we get some rules from the court that will protect users' anonymity online," EFF spokeswoman Gelman said.

Analysis: China, the Net and free speech
February 16, 2001
Media in developing countries get tech support
February 1, 2001
Group claims software disables porn filters
December 20, 2000
Chinese Internet companies face tough regulations
October 4, 2000
German official asks U.S. ISPs to block neo-Nazi sites
August 29, 2000
The trouble with regulating hatred online
July 25, 2000

ACLU blasts library filtering legislation
(InfoWorld.com)
InfoSpace CEO, COO, CFO depart
(The Industry Standard)
Groups seek to protect anonymous Net posters
(InfoWorld.com)
FBI completes rollout of corporate cybercrime program
(InfoWorld.com)
Civil-rights coalition complains about domains
(IDG.net)
Court blocks company's deep link to competitor's site
(IDG.net)
U.S. high court lets stand computer anti-porn law
(The Industry Standard)
Seek employee feedback
(InfoWorld.com)

Electronic Frontier Foundation
American Civil Liberties Union

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.