It’s a simple fact of the internet that people are mean, but what happens when the meanies of the internet cross over into defamation territory? That’s the subject of a court case between Google Australia and 7-Eleven executive and former sportsman Shane Radbone where the former has just been ordered to reveal the identity of anonymous bloggers.
A South Australian court has given Google Australia 28 days to comply with an order that would force it to reveal the identity of anonymous authors who have been using its Blogger service to allegedly defame Shane Radbone.
The blogs reportedly accuse Radbone of being an “incompetent businessman and sportsman”. Google will have to hand over the IP addresses, emails and phone numbers of the accused as a result of the court order.
The moral of the story? Don’t be a dick on the internet. [The Next Web]