Anonymity on the 'net

At Law.com, Fred von Lohmann discusses the potential demise of anonymity online: Publius, RIP?: "On the Internet, your ISP knows you're not a dog, and your adversary is only a subpoena away from compromising your constitutionally-protected right to bark anonymously."

Dendrite International v. Doe, 775 A.2d 756 (N.J. App. 2001), offers one approach for evaluating whether a court should require an ISP to disclose an anonymous poster's identity. The plaintiff must notify the anonymous posters and allow the anonymous poster a reasonable opportunity to file and serve opposition. The plaintiff must identify and set for the exact statements purpotedly made by each anonymous poster. The court then shall review the application to see whether the plaintiff has established prima facie cause of action against the fictitiously-named anonymous defendants. Finally, the court must balance "the defendant's First Amendment right of anonymous free speech against the strength of the prima facie case presented and the necessity for the disclosure of the anonymous defendant's identity to allow the plaintiff to properly proceed."

In a Sept. 2001 NY Law Journal article, Richard Raysman and Peter Brown discuss Discovering the Identity of Anonymous Internet Posters.