Academic

Gleicher on Online Anonymity & John Doe Subpoenas

By Lawrence Solum

Nathaniel Jurist Gleicher has posted John Doe Subpoenas: Toward a Consistent Legal Standard (Yale Law Journal, Vol. 118, No. 320, 2008) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This Note considers the rising trend of anonymous online harassment and the use of John Doe subpoenas to unmask anonymous speakers. Although anonymity often serves as an important shield for valuable speech, it also protects online harassment that can chill or completely silence the speech of its targets. This Note argues that the public figure doctrine should be adapted to John Doe subpoenas to distinguish between online harassment and more valued anonymous speech. It then divides John Doe subpoena standards into six constituent factors, evaluates each one, and proposes a final standard that consistently balances the needs of plaintiffs and defendants and helps judges to distinguish online harassment from other forms of anonymous speech.

Interesting student note on an important topic--recommended.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on April 16, 2009 (boomark / email).