Cyber-Attacked Model to Sue Anonymous Blogger
Should Bloggers be Accountable for Their Words? What of Free Speech?
Aug 19, 2009
On Monday, August 17, 2009 New York Supreme Court Judge Joan Madden ruled that former model, Liskula Cohen, who had been cyber-slammed on an online blog should be allowed to know the identify of her virtual attacker. The ruling stated that Google, the company who owns the blogging site, Blogger.com, must give Ms. Cohen any identifying information it has about the creator of the blog. Google cooperated with the court and turned over the information that they have on the next day.
Ms. Cohen, now 37 years old, is a former cover girl and had appeared in national fashion magazines such as Vogue. The blog that caused the stir had been created as "Skanks in NYC" and posted with pictures of Ms. Cohen and captions calling her things such as "psychotic", "ho" and "skank". Her attorney plans to sue the blogger for defamation.
Freedom of Speech as Granted by the United Nations
In 1948 the United Nations formed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which Article 19 states. "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." The supporting nations were then asked to disseminate the information and make it publicly taught to all peoples of the world. It is this freedom which all people have been given rights to and the majority of countries seek.
However, does freedom of opinion or expression mean that people can truly say whatever they want? Article 1 of this same document also says that all humans are "endowed with reason and conscience" and that they "should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." Article 5 mentions that no one should be subject to "degrading treatment." Article 12 discusses that a person should not be subjected to "attacks upon his honor and reputation."
"Everybody's Doing It"
Although freedom is granted for all to have and to express their opinions, this shouldn't mean that people can say whatever they feel if it harms another persons reputation or if it degrades them. It seems, more and more that internet life is being enveloped by a feeling that people can write whatever they want and very often resort to name-calling and mud-slinging in the cyber environment. Anne Salisbury, the attorney that anonymously representing the accused in the New York court case based her defense partly on the fact that online name-calling is so rampant and that it is practically part of the web's DNA.
Being Held Accountable for Their Words
Freedom of expression and freedom of the press applies to news media and those who are representing an opinion on the internet. However, the line between opinion and fact is becoming more and more blurred with each blog. Bloggers, people leaving comments and those on social networks all over the internet write their opinions, but are beginning to forget that they must state that it is opinion to avoid being held accountable with defamation, slander and libel suits.
The only defenses for these types of suits is Truth, Privilege, Opinion, Fair Comment, Innocent Dissemination and Consent. If it can be proven that the statement is true, the suit no longer stands. If it can be proven that the statement was made as an opinion, the suit no longer has any merit. Many in the online world use this as their defense but much depends on how the statement is worded. Stating something as if it were fact such as, "Joe is a thief" does not constitute an opinion because it is stating that Joe is a thief as if it can be proven. Unless Ms. Cohen's attacker can prove that she is "psychotic", a "ho" or a "skank" the defamation suit will have no merit. However, it is more likely that the attacker will be held accountable for his or her words in some way.
Cyberbullying
This type of cyber-harassment has become such a problem with children and teens that a phrase has been coined specifically for this behavior in children. The term Cyberbullying only applies when it involves minors, according to Cyberbullying.org. They state that this type of harassment has become a large problem and has resulted in the deaths of children, some at the hands of others, some by children taking their own lives after being bullied and humiliated by online posts.
Expressing opinions is one of the fundamental rights that all humans in the United States and the world should possess, but they should also be held accountable for what and how they express themselves. Online writers should realize that what they say, even if said "anonymously" has an impact on others. Statements made as if they were factual can come back to haunt them, therefore if a person is going to write online, he should be sure to check all of his facts and to clearly state when something that is his opinion is strictly his opinion.
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