U.S. Supreme Court,
Constitutional Law
Apr. 17, 2012
Anonymity in cyberspace: courts shield speech but not piracy
Difficult questions arise when litigants attempt to unmask anonymous Internet users in order to assert legal claims based on their online activities.
Andrew J. Thomas
Partner, Jenner & Block LLP
Phone: (213) 239-5100
Email: ajthomas@jenner.com
Harvard Univ Law School; Cambridge MA
Andrew represents content owners in copyright, trademark and First Amendment matters. CONTENT MATTERS is a monthly column devoted to matters of interest to those who create content of all kinds (entertainment, news, software, advertising, etc.) and bring that content to market. Our hope is to shed light on key issues facing the creative content community. If you have questions, comments or topic ideas, let us know. Because content matters.
CONTENT MATTERS
Few disagree that noncommercial speech on the Internet is fully protected by the First Amendment, or that the First Amendment protects the right to speak anonymously. Yet difficult questions arise when litigants attempt to unmask anonymous Internet users in order to assert legal claims based on their online activities.
Invoking the Founders' pseudonymous political advocacy in The Federalist Papers, the U.S. Sup...For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
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