Internet privacy not so private in court

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By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Small-town gossip is electronic now, reaching far and wide with a speed that is difficult to stop.

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"People believe that they're acting anonymously on the Internet, and to a certain extent that may be true," said media attorney Peter Canfield. "But people have virtually no privacy on the Internet. When you go online, you leave tracks that can be followed and traced."

Special "People believe that they're acting anonymously on the Internet, and to a certain extent that may be true," said media attorney Peter Canfield. "But people have virtually no privacy on the Internet. When you go online, you leave tracks that can be followed and traced."

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“We have got to stop this,” said Blairsville attorney Russell Stookey, who won a $404,000 award for Gene Cooley of Blairsville after a website poster falsely called Cooley a child molester and drug addict.

“We’re not trying to cut down on anybody’s ability to speak freely,” Stookey said. “The type of speech we are trying to curb is you cannot get out there and lie about someone and do character assassination.”

It’s relatively new legal ground in Georgia, though the legal questions surrounding anonymous Internet postings are becoming a bigger issue, experts say. "It's generating litigation all over the country," said Stookey.

But the courts have said information about a poster's identity should only be available if it's for a court case and not just to seek retribution.

Chris Tolles, Topix.com founder and CEO, said he recently got such a subpoena from Georgia, involving the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Last October, two former Polk County sheriff’s deputies filed a federal lawsuit after they were fired, in part, for anonymously posting comments on Topix.com. According to the suit, County Sheriff Kelly James McClendon discovered the deputies' true identities using their IP addresses. The county attorney confirmed to an Atlanta TV station that the deputy was fired for "making numerous posts" on Topix.com.

"People believe that they're acting anonymously on the Internet, and to a certain extent that may be true," said media attorney Peter Canfield, who represents The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "But people have virtually no privacy on the Internet. When you go online, you leave tracks that can be followed and traced."

In Texas, a federal judge has already ruled that companies such as Topix.com must surrender IP addresses -- the normally private numeric code that identifies users' computers -- in response to a court subpoena.

In that case, a couple acquitted of sexual assault charges continued to be plagued by Topix.com posters who said the two were murderers and committed other crimes. The couple sued to get the IP addresses for 178 anonymous posters and they used that information to file defamation charges against some of them. The lawsuit is still pending.

In some places, libel or defamation is a crime, unlike Georgia where it’s a civil matter. Stookey said he is working with Rep. Stephen Allison (R-Blairsville) to draft legislation that would make it a misdemeanor to defame someone on the Internet.

“It’s so pervasive,” Stookey said. I want people to bring suits on this stuff. If we can't get that criminal statute through [the General Assembly], I’ll show them the trick.”

In Colorado, for example, it’s a crime to post on the Internet false information that defames someone with accusations of criminal acts, marital infidelity, dishonesty or having a disease.

The Delaware Supreme Court was the first to rule that subjects of critical Internet postings cannot track IP addresses simply to take retribution. Canfield said that decision is considered the leading case on the topic.

And, Canfield said, the sites are not responsible for the words of the posters.

Tolles said his Palo Alto, Calif., Internet company only provides a platform for discussions of news items and other community matters.

“We’re a blackboard. We are not responsible for anything anyone says,” Tolles said. “I defend their right to take dumb stuff and put it on the Internet. The Internet provides a ... tool to attack power.”

He said the site only removes postings that defame. Personal criticism, no matter how heated, is fine.

‘Things that bother people should not necessarily be illegal,” said Tolles, whose company gets about 10 subpoenas a week for information similar to IP addresses. “The law is really clear. It’s you who is responsible for what you say. It’s not Facebook. It’s not Myspace. It’s not Topix.”