IP: Lawsuits May Pierce Veil Of Internet Anonymity

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

>From: "Richard Dooling" <richard@dooling.com>
>To: <farber@cis.upenn.edu>
>
>
>
>Corporate Case in Ohio Raises Questions on Internet Anonymity
>By JOHN SCHWARTZ
>
>John Hritz wants to get to know Jane Doe.
>
>Jane Doe is the pseudonym for an Internet user who posted messages critical
>of Mr. Hritz and the company he serves as a general counsel, AK Steel of
>Middletown, Ohio
>
>In court filings fighting the request to unmask Jane Doe, the civil
>liberties groups argue that at the very moment the power of the Internet is
>helping to create the biggest marketplace of ideas the world has ever seen,
>powerful companies will be able to squelch online speech by using the courts
>as a "private detective service" to unmask critics.
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/17/technology/17ONLI.html
>
>
>Richard Dooling