March 23, 2001

4:43 AM

Be careful what you say online.At least if you're in the UK, where an anonymous poster to 2 message boards now faces charges of defamation after the courts ordered the disclosure of their identity. ISP Totalise used existing law to force Motley Fool to disclose the details of an anonymous poster to their message boards alleged to have made defamatory comments. Landmark case or storm in a teacup?
posted by Markb (3 comments total)

When are these sites going to learn? It is entirely legal to instantly and routinely destroy all server-log and other identifying information with respect to posts ... thus, nothing to disclose at all regarding anonymous posts. (It is illegal to destroy those records selectively, though, to avoid discovery).
posted by MattD at 7:06 AM on March 23, 2001

and adding to Matt's comment, this is a good reason to delete your email too and keep system images/backups for a limited time (like 7 days or less). Any other sysadmin suggestions? I'd like to know what/where you recommend.
posted by greyscale at 4:59 PM on March 23, 2001

It is entirely legal to instantly and routinely destroy all server-log and other identifying information...

Does this apply outside the USA? I'm not convinced, especially given the anon.penet.fi case, and the RIP Act in the UK. All your privacy are belong---um.
posted by holgate at 5:38 PM on March 23, 2001