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Back in January 2009, a New York fashion model named Liskula Cohen sued Blogger.com, Google’s blogging service, to find out the name of a blogger who posted allegedly defamatory comments about her.

Only seven months later, a Manhattan Supreme Court ordered Blogger.com to reveal the name of the blogger.
Google revealed the name, allowing Cohen to sue the blogger, Rosemary Port, for $3 million.

The only way Google could have known the blogger’s name is if she gave it to them in the first place. Had she used a fictitious name like, “Anony Mouse”, Google would have still revealed the name, but it would have not been enough to locate the blogger. Instead, Cohen would have had to get IP addresses and issue subpoenas in order to track down the real blogger. Going to all that trouble might have discouraged her from suing over the blog comments in the first place.

Clearly, no one has the right to post false and defamatory information about another person. But defamatory speech is protected under the First Amendment if it is true. And bloggers should not have to operate under a cloud of fear that anything they write might get them sued. There is no protection against lawsuits against bloggers who write perfectly true comments, even if they are offensive or defamatory.

Therefore it is up to bloggers to protect themselves against frivolous and reactionary lawsuits by not giving out their real names, addresses, phone numbers, or any other personally identifiable information to their blogging service. Blog using a pseudonym, or, if you must, use your real name and restrict your more colorful entries to people you trust.

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