ArecentIsraelicourtcasehasGoogledivulgingtheidentityofananonymousblogger.TofindouttheimplicationsforUSlawweaskedtwoUSandIsraeliattorneys,DavidMirchinandRussellMayer,fortheiropinionsheresopinioncanbefoundhere.
IsraelicourtshavebeenmuchmoresympathetictoplaintiffswhohaveclaimedthattheyhavebeendefamedovertheInternetinblogs,forumsortalkbacks.GooglesidentityisconsistentwiththetrendinIsraelicasesoverthelastyear.SinceUSdefamationlawissimilarinmajorwaystoIsraelilaw,thesecasesmayindeedbecitedbyUScourtswrestlingwiththeseissues.
Theissuethattypicallyarisesinallthesecases,likeyesterdaysGooglecaseinIsrael,iswhetherananonymousposterwhowritessomescathingdiatribesshouldberequiredtorevealhisidentityandfaceadefamationlawsuit.IntheUS,followingtwocases,NewJerseycaseofDendriteandthe2005DelawareSupremeCourtdecisioninCahill,ittendstobedifficultforplaintiffswhowishtosueanonymousbloggersfordefamation.
IsraelicaseshavecitedDendriteandCahill,buthavecometoadifferentconclusion.Theyhaveruledthatundercertaincircumstancestheidentityofapostercanberevealed.Inthe2006caseofBezekv.JohnDoe,thisoccurredwhereananonymousposterimpersonated31postersallclaimingorsupportingtheclaimthatahighgovernmentofficialwasguiltyofembezzlementandtheidentityofthisofficialsout-of-wedlockchild.Thecourtheldthatyoucouldrevealthepostersnamebecauseitcouldrisetoacriminalclaimofdefamation.
InApril,2007,inthecaseofRamiMorv.Ynet(ThesiteofamajornewspaperandapopularIsraeliportal),thestandardtoreleaseapostersidentitybecameeasier.RamiMor,theplaintiffinthatcasewasapractitionerofalternativemedicine.AnanonymouspostertoanInternetforumhostedbyynetclaimedthatMorwasa“thief”anda“charlatan”.ThecourtdiscussedCahillextensively,andstatedthatinthenormalcase,theanonymouspostersidentitycouldnotberevealed.Thereneededtobean“extraelement”,suchas:
- theplaintiffschancestosucceedintheclaimaregood;
- thetypeofprotectedspeech(politicalspeechismoreprotectedthancommercialspeech);
- theoffensivenessofthespeech;or
- theweightthatareasonablereaderwouldattributetothepublication.
Thecourtheldthatduetotheoffensivenessoftheclaims,andtherepeatedallegations,theanonymouspostershouldnormallyhavehisidentityrevealed.Butbecausethiswasaverynewareaoflaw,thecourtdecidednottoorderthedisclosureofhisidentityinthiscase.
Butthatrestraintdidntlastlong.Justthispastmonth,acourtorderedKeshet,theISP,torevealtheIPaddressofaposterwhoattackedacorrespondentofGlobes,amajorIsraelibusinessnewspaper.
InlightoftheveryrecentIsraelicaselaw,Googlesactionsarenotunreasonable,eventhoughtheypushtheenvelopeyetonemorestepinfavorofdefamationplaintiffs,becauseGoogledidnotevenwaitforacourtordertorevealtheIPaddressoftheblogger.
TheIsraelicaselawhasbeenmuchmoresympathetictodefamationplaintiffsthantheUScases,andhavedivergedfromCahill,andUSdefamationlawintwoimportantrespects:
1.Israelicaseshaveconcludedthatopinions,iftheyareoutrageousenough,frequentenough,anddamagingenough,canformthebasisofdefamationclaims.
2.IsraelicourtshavenotbeendismissiveofblogsandforumsandtalkbacksaswasCahill,whichsaidthattheyarenotdependable.Israelicourtshavesaidthat,whilesomeforumsorblogsmaynothavecredibility,otherscanbehighlycredible-andtherefore,damagingtoplaintiffs.
TheIsraelicaseshaveshownmuchlesstoleranceforanonymouspostersslingingunsubstantiatedclaimsatofficials.Thisisnotnecessarilyabadthing,somaybeUScourtsshoulddosomethingrarelydonelookeastwardtowardIsraelforsomeguidanceontheseissues.
DavidMirchin(dmirchin@meitar.com)istheheadoftheTechnologyandLicensingDepartmentinMeitarLiquornikGeva&LeshemBrandwein.HeisanAdjunctLecturerofInternetande-CommerceLawatTheInterdisciplinaryLawSchool(Herzliya,Israel)andislicensedtopracticeinMassachusetts.