Court orders offensive blogger to reveal identity

20 Aug 2009 | Index Index, minipost

Vogue cover girl has won a precedent-setting court battle to order Google to unmask an anonymous blogger who called her a “skank” on the internet. Model Liskula Cohen says she has not ruled out suing the blogger. The anonymous remarks targeting Cohen’s hygiene and sexual habits were posted on Google’s Blogger.com. The blogger’s lawyer argued that although the comments may have been disgusting they were opinions and protected as free speech. Read more here

Zuma accepts damages from Guardian

31 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost

The Guardian has published an apology and has settled out of court for an undisclosed amount with the South African President. The paper had described president Zuma in an article as a rapist. President Zuma, although brought to court for both rape and corruption was not convicted as guilty. Read more here

Google not liable for defamation

20 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost

Google is not liable for defamatory comments that appear in news articles, blogs and forums displayed in its search results, a high court judge in London has concluded in a landmark ruling for UK defamation law. Mr Justice Eady ruled in a judgment in the high court that Google was a “facilitator” and not a publisher of the content. Read more here

Google executives face trial in Italy

23 Jun 2009 | Index Index, minipost

The Italian trial of four Google executives accused of defamation for allowing a video to be posted online showing an autistic youth being abused, will begin today. They deny all charges  and say the case is  “a direct attack on a free and open internet”. Read more here

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