Co.'s Effort to ID Web Critic Is Quashed; Posts Were 'Hyperbolic Opinion,' Says Fed'l Judge
A federal judge in San Francisco has quashed a subpoena seeking to force Yahoo to provide the Web address for an anonymous online critic of USA Technologies, saying that “Stokklerk” has a constitutional right to post “hyperbolic opinion” about the company anonymously on the Internet.
Although the Pennsylvania-based company contends in a state-law suit there that Stokklerk’s comments are defamatory and constitute securities fraud, since he allegedly has a financial interest in denigrating the company, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston held that more is required before USA Technologies can force Yahoo to disclose Stokklerk’s identity, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Quashing a Pennsylvania subpoena at the request of Stokklerk, who pursued the issue in federal court in San Francisco because Yahoo is located there, Illston said that mere insults such as calling the company’s chief executive officer a “known liar” don’t establish the violation of rights and resultant serious harm that are a prerequisite evidence to unveiling an anonymous critic.
A press release by the Electronic Frontier Foundation provides further details. The advocacy group also provides a link to Illston’s order (PDF) earlier this week granting Stokklerk’s motion to quash.
Lawyers for USA Technologies didn’t respond to the Chronicle’s requests for comment.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Pennsylvania AG Issues Subpoena for IDs of Two Twitter Critics”
