IP: Canadian Court Order on Anonymity

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Watch what you say online that is negative ESPECIALLY in Canada  djf




> Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 10:57:37 -0400
> From: Dave Banisar <dbanisar () epic org>
> To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>,
> Subject: Fwd: Canadian Court Order on Anonymity
>
> > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/docs/news/19980710/ROBFront/rphil.html
> >
> > Philip wins court orders to get names
> >
> > Seeks identities behind critics on the Internet
> >
> > Friday, July 10, 1998
> > By Janet Mcfarland
> > The Globe and Mail
> >
> > Philip Services Corp. has been granted 12 court orders to obtain
> > names of critics who have posted negative comments on the
> > Internet.
> >
> > The cases are certain to have a chilling effect on the hundreds of
> > investors who post messages daily to chat groups discussing the
> > pros and cons of numerous publicly traded companies. Most of the
> > discussions are conducted using pseudonyms, and Philip is believed
> > to be the first Canadian company to obtain an identity from an
> > Internet access provider through a court order.
> >
> > John Gallagher, who has posted messages about Hamilton-based
> > Philip on the Internet, said yesterday that he was not informed
> > that Philip was seeking his name until after the information was
> > released by his Internet provider, Weslink Datalink Corp. of
> > Hamilton.
> >
> > Weslink provided the information to Philip yesterday morning after
> > being served with a court order signed by Mr. Justice Nicholas
> > Borkovich of the Ontario Court's General Division in Hamilton.
> >
> > "I didn't know that was happening. I wasn't in any position to
> > offer any opinion," Mr. Gallagher said yesterday. "It was
> > blindsiding."
> >
> > Philip is pursuing similar cases with numerous other Internet
> > access providers.
> >
> > Nadir Desai, chief executive officer of the Canadian subsidiary of
> > PsiNet Inc. of Herndon, Va., said he could not discuss continuing
> > legal action involving Philip because his company's case has not
> > yet been resolved. But Mr. Desai said PsiNet will pursue the case
> > in the courts.
> >
> > "We're wandering into uncharted territory here," he said. "This is
> > something that the legal system has to work through, because never
> > before has this type of technology been involved to do what one
> > person might consider to be abusive and another person might
> > consider to be freedom of speech."
> >
> > Philip's action follows months of comment, criticism and
> > speculation about the industrial waste recycling company posted on
> > the Yahoo Inc. message board by investors and others watching the
> > company. Philip has struggled with losses of $126.3-million
> > (U.S.), a copper trading scandal and the departure of most of its
> > senior managers.
> >
> > Philip spokeswoman Lynda Kuhn said the company warned offending
> > writers on the Internet in June that it would pursue legal action
> > if they didn't stop making what the company considers defamatory
> > comments about Philip.
> >
> > "We've been quite clear that there obviously is absolute
> > entitlement to freedom of speech and people are free to criticize
> > any company and discuss the company and its performance," she
> > said. "But when it gets to the point of out-and-out defamation,
> > stalking, ethnic slurs, forms of sexual harassment, it's going
> > beyond anything that's acceptable."
> >
> > Although the messages have been posted on a message board
> > maintained by Yahoo Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., Philip has turned
> > to Internet access providers to find out the identities of
> > posters.
> >
> > Philip initially received an order on June 27 requiring Weslink to
> > turn over the name of an anonymous poster, but the order was
> > granted ex parte, which means neither Weslink nor the writer was
> > represented in court by a lawyer.
> >
> > Weslink had the order amended at a July 7 hearing, but was
> > compelled to release the name to Philip.
> >
> > Weslink said in a statement yesterday that it treats client
> > information confidentially and said it only releases data when
> > served with a court order.
> >
> > The company said it notified Mr. Gallagher as soon as it was
> > legally allowed to do so under the terms of the court order, and
> > did not comply with the original order until it had some of the
> > terms amended.
> >
> > For example, the original order did not allow Weslink to tell Mr.
> > Gallagher at any time that his name had been provided to Philip.
> > The second order allowed Weslink to notify him after his name was
> > given to Philip.
> >
> > In the order seeking information from Weslink, Philip lists 26
> > Internet names it is trying to identify. Three of the aliases
> > belong to Mr. Gallagher, a former Hamilton city councillor who has
> > been involved in public disputes over pollution in Hamilton
> > harbour and other issues.
> >
> > The only writer identified by name on the list is Paul Palango, a
> > freelance journalist who has had a history of legal disputes with
> > Philip. Mr. Palango, a former editor at The Globe and Mail, said
> > yesterday that he has posted to the Yahoo site under his real name
> > and has not used an alias.
> >
> > Mr. Palango said he doesn't know why Philip is pursuing the court
> > order against himself and other chat group writers, and said he
> > doesn't know what Philip plans to do with the information.
> >
> > "One has to wonder what's going on at Philip when they have all
> > the problems they have, and they're attacking selected aliases on
> > the Internet and spending all this energy on it," he said.
> >
> > Mr. Palango said he believes most of the Internet chat has been
> > fair comment about the company's problems, and has not been
> > libellous.
> >
> > Mr. Gallagher said he chose to make his postings anonymously
> > because he was concerned about repercussions in Hamilton and
> > because he believed he was being followed by someone who might
> > pose a threat to his physical safety.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > .......................................................................
> > David L. Sobel, General Counsel              *   +1 202 544 9240 (tel)
> > Electronic Privacy Information Center        *   +1 202 547 5482 (fax)
> > 666 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 301          *   sobel () epic org
> > Washington, DC 20003   USA                   *   http://www.epic.org
> > .




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