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Judge: Bloggers have no right to anonymity

MAIL ONLINE ARTICLE:

Bloggers beware as judge says authors do NOT have right to anonymity on the web.


Thousands of 'bloggers' could lose their cloak of anonymity after a landmark High Court ruling allowed the identification of a serving police officer who ran a controversial website.

Mr Justice Eady refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of Richard Horton, the author of a blog called NightJack.

The 45-year-old detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary had sought an injunction to stop his name from being made public.

But the judge ruled that Mr Horton had no 'reasonable expectation' to anonymity because 'blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity'.

The ruling is likely to have a knock-on effect for the thousands of other 'bloggers', who are now likely to be refused an injunction to stop newspapers from making their name public.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE.
 
Why do The Times need to publish his name ? If he had spoken to a Times journalist in confidence they would protect his name even if a judge requested it. One rule for a Times source, another for the public. :hrmph:
 
all it comes down to is: "as long as the media is making money, they dont care whos life they ruin in the process"
 
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Perhaps this is more about use of language, if somebody makes an accusation in a blog then just because it's a blog doesn't make it any less open, by those potentially being slandered, to legal action than a newspaper. This is often because some people mistakenly write in statement form when they could easily avoid most of the problems by saying "In my opinion" or "I believe". Personal opinion is legally protected and very different from making a blanket statement.

So somebody that says “this company is corrupt” is likely to face a legal threat or two while saying “In my personal opinion, this company could be acting corruptly” gives you some protection. On the other hand blogs are, by nature, assumed to be personal opinion sites so perhaps that is another way you could argue against such rulings.
 
If the blogger was so unhappy with the force, why didn't he try to sort it out in-house or go to the IPCC / police union.

Alternatively, going direct to the paper rather than bad mouthing them publicly would have given him more protection, and would have resulted in a better story than "unhappy copper slates force"

I agree the paper could have handled it better, but then so could the blogger.

If I bad mouthed my company in public I would feel like I was betraying them - at the very least its a serious breach of trust. Of course a genuine fear for public safety might give a public interest argument to the story, though not necessarily any guarantee of anonymity.
 
If the blogger was so unhappy with the force, why didn't he try to sort it out in-house or go to the IPCC / police union.

Because (IMNIO) 1 in 5 policemen are crooked bullies and 4 in 5 are afraid to do anything about it.

Alternatively, going direct to the paper rather than bad mouthing them publicly would have given him more protection, and would have resulted in a better story than "unhappy copper slates force"

Going directly to a rag owned by NewsCop?

You are aware of the blanket they put around the Chimpanzee for the last 8 years are you not?

We ARE talking about the criminal legal system here.

WAKE UP!

If I bad mouthed my company in public I would feel like I was betraying them - at the very least its a serious breach of trust.

You seem unaware of unofficial police tactic in such things as strikes. Usually protesters are goaded by the police or pretend protesters lined up in the striker's ranks.

In a police charge they are never arrested but plenty near them are. Then the one or two that get badly mauled by the bullies are not helped. Look it up on You Tube. "Kettling" etc. Until the advent of the Internet the BBC would never show what really happened at strikes where there was violence. This is also true of almost all other channels except Aljazeera.

And their reporters tend to get hammered by whoever is doing the bullying.

Until you have had a bad time at court, you will never know just how unjust it can be for a citizen who is so ingenuous that he doesn't know enough to keep his trap shut.

There is no discussion outside a TV play or a (usually) over the top film, that allows a genuinely honest man to get solid advice about how to proceed with helping the police in their enquiries.

Solicitors never offer it not more adroitly than to offer a suggestion. It's not usually a subject for discussion.

And no one tells you that the police are listening into any conversations you have with him or anyone else. Nor are you ever told you can ask to see all the evidence against you.

And the verbal warning called "reading you your rights" may indicate to you (the gormless) that if you say what you are supposed to say to the police at any time, day or night, it seems you are guilty or hiding something.

What you are supposed to say to the police at any time, day or night is sweet sod all.

Name, rank and number, that's it. If they want to know more, ask to speak to your solicitor and make it the duty one as he will be clued into the local plod and a fair hand at local baddies and goodies.

And ask him to read your instructions and burn the notes you give him. Don't say anything out loud.

It's still a game to them all and some get paid more than others. Especially judges. So you see why the high regard for our boys in blue has no pathological reason besides looking after one's minions.

And In My Opinion, being a fellow ****.
 
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