New case on the right of anonymous free speech

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Paul Levy <plevy () citizen org>
Date: February 13, 2007 9:37:27 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: New case on the right of anonymous free speech

I want to call your attention to a case just filed by my colleague  
Jennifer Soble on behalf of an anonymous Internet speaker whose  
identity was revealed by his ISP, nj.com, without giving the speaker  
any notice or opportunity to oppose disclosure.  Even though New  
Jersey is the state the pioneered the protection of anonymous  
Internet speakers by the adoption of the "Dendrite" standard  
requiring notice and proof of wrongdoing before a subpoena can be  
enforced (established in 2001 by Dendrite International v Doe), and  
even though nj.com is run by a consortium of New Jersey newspapers  
that ought to appreciate the need to protect anonymous sources,  
nj.com released its customer's identity without making any effort to  
determine whether there might be a basis for opposing the subpoena  
and without any notice to the anonymous speaker so that he could move  
to quash the subpoena in the manner for which Dendrite provides.  The  
result was that the speaker (who criticized local firefighters on a  
community blog run by nj.com) was identified publicly on the blog,  
ridiculed, and run out of town.  The lawsuit claims that nj.com's  
release of identifying information without any notice was a violation  
of the ISP's privacy policy as well as being a tort under New Jersey  
law.

Paul Alan Levy
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 588-1000
http://www.citizen.org/litigation
> > > Robert Yule 02/13/07 2:55 PM >>>
PUBLIC CITIZEN PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:           Contact: Jennifer Soble (248)  
568-7660 Feb. 13, 2007                                           
Robert Yule (202) 588-7703

Public Citizen Represents Former New Jersey Town Council Member in  
Suit Against Internet News Site

NJ.com Breached Contract by Revealing Identity of Anonymous Poster,  
Suit Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. - An online news site unlawfully revealed the  
identity of a former New Jersey town official who had posted  
anonymous comments on its message board, according to a lawsuit filed  
today by Public Citizen on behalf of the official. When his identity  
was made known, he was publicly humiliated and forced to resign.

Michael Gallucci, a former town councilman for Teaneck, N.J., posted  
messages anonymously on a Teaneck area message board on NJ.com, a  
news site and Internet service provider (ISP) owned by New Jersey On- 
Line, LLC.  The ISP provides a forum dedicated to many towns within  
the state where visitors to the Web site can anonymously post  
comments related to the locality.

From Dec. 16, 2005, to Dec. 21, 2005, Galluci posted on the site  
criticisms of William J. Brennan, a firefighter who had been employed  
with the Teaneck Fire Department. Brennan was a regular poster on  
NJ.com's Teaneck message board, where he lodged frequent complaints  
against the Teaneck Council under the name "WJBrennan." Prior to Dec.  
16, Brennan had also been a party to approximately 10 lawsuits  
involving the township of Teaneck, as well as the Teaneck Council  
members.

The ISP unlawfully released Galluci's identity publicly on the  
message board after it received a subpoena from Brennan's lawyer. New  
Jersey law requires that anonymous Internet users first be given  
notice before subpoenas seeking their identity can be enforced, so  
that the speaker can challenge the validity of the subpoena and  
protect his identity.

The release of his name on the message board led to overwhelming  
criticism of Galluci, his forced resignation from the Township  
Council, and public humiliation as the story was picked up by local  
and major media outlets. Galluci, who grew up in Teaneck and whose  
social network, including his family and friends, was located in the  
township, felt forced leave Teaneck. He quickly sold his home and  
relocated to another city.

"When a newspaper is asked or even subpoenaed to identify a source of  
one of its news stories, any paper worth its salt would fight the  
subpoena before revealing that information," said Jennifer Soble, a  
lawyer for Public Citizen who is litigating the case. "When a  
newspaper invites citizens to comment on its Web site, it owes those  
citizens the same protections against unreasonable intrusions into  
their privacy."

To view the lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, visit  
http://www.citizen.org/documents/galluccicomplaint.pdf.

Public Citizen has a record of defending the First Amendment rights  
of Internet users. To learn more, visit http://www.citizen.org/ 
litigation/briefs/IntFreeSpch/.

###

Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy  
organization based in Washington, D.C. For more information, please  
see http://www.citizen.org.




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