Digital Age Defamation: Free Speech v. Freedom from Responsibility on the Internet

Disgruntled employees have always made damaging comments about their companies, and in the past, the companies could sue for defamation. But now, with the internet, people can make false claims anonymously. It’s easy to sue someone you can find and serve with legal papers, but what do you do when the person spreading lies about your company online can’t be found? This is a problem that courts are dealing with more and more. Erik Hvide, the former chairman and CEO of a Florida company, was defamed by eight anonymous people in an online chatroom. He wanted to sue them, but didn’t know who they were. His lawyer tried to get information from the internet service provider they used. The people argued that they had a right to stay anonymous online. The court eventually allowed Hvide to get the information he needed to sue them. This decision also changed the rules for suing for online defamation. Courts in different states have made decisions about whether companies can force internet providers to reveal the identities of people who post negative things online. In Washington, the court said that companies can’t always find out who is saying bad things about them online. In New Jersey, the court said it depends on whether the company can prove it was harmed by the online comments. In Virginia, the court said a company can’t stay anonymous and still force internet providers to reveal the identities of other anonymous posters. Overall, the decisions are mixed and there is no clear national trend. In simple terms, the legal system is trying to catch up with the issues of cyber-slander on the internet. There have been some encouraging court decisions in Florida, and other states will provide guidance on how to handle cases where the identity of anonymous internet posters is involved. An attorney named Matthew S. Effland wrote about this in a publication for lawyers.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/digital-age-defamation-free-speech-v-freedom-from-responsibility-on-the-internet/