What is blogging? Is it ordinary people giving their opinions on the news of the day, or is it a form of journalism where facts need to be checked and personal feelings need to be kept to a minimum. In reality it’s probably a combination of the two, but the case of the Skanks in NYC blog could decide which description is more accurate from a legal standpoint.

Rosemary Port, a 27-year-old student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, began writing a blog titled Skanks in New York on Google’s Blogger service. However, rather than use her own name, she posted anonymously, obviously wishing to hide her true identity to enable her to speak her mind and give snarky opinions.

One of her posts included several pictures of a model named Liskula Cohen in unflattering and unbecoming poses (including one where she was allegedly fully dressed but simulating sex with a man) with a caption underneath reading, “I would have to say that first place award for ‘Skankiest in NYC’ would have to go to Liskula Gentile Cohen.”

Liskula asked Google to reveal the details of the blogger responsible for what she claimed was defamation. Google at first refused but had to concede when ordered to by a New York court last week. Port was then unmasked as the writer of the blog but Cohen decided against pursuing the $3 million defamation lawsuit that was originally brought. It seems that knowing who was responsible is enough for Cohen.

Today saw the case take a rather unexpected twist when, according to New York Daily News, Port announced she was going to sue Google for $15 million for complying with the court order to reveal her details. Port’s lawyer, Salvatore Strazzullo, has stated the lawsuit is for Google “breaching its fiduciary duty to protect her expectation of anonymity.”

This issue is a big one because should Port be successful in her lawsuit it means Google will baulk at complying with court orders of this variety in the future. But more than that, it means the questions of what a blog is and what rights a blogger has to say what they like will be addressed. Which could have a huge say in the future of how bloggers treat people in the public eye. Perez Hilton should perhaps watch himself.

Related:

Entry was posted on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 8:43 pm under Google, Internet, Legal, Opinion, Technology.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
Stumble It!