UK bloggers - no anonymity anymore!

[fetishlad]

So today the court in the UK ruled that bloggers do not have the right to remain anonymous ..... I haven't made my mind up whether this is a good or a bad thing.

This is a case where a police officer tried to keep his identity hidden when writing a policing blog:

"In the first case dealing with the privacy of internet bloggers, the judge ruled that Mr Horton had no “reasonable expectation” to anonymity because “blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity”.

Coming down in favour of freedom of expression, the judge also said that even if the blogger could have claimed he had a right to anonymity, the judge would have ruled against him on public interest grounds.



See whole article here in the Times paper:


http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6509677.ece

[rawTOP]

That's absurd. How many books have been published under pseudonyms?

[fetishlad]

I know!!!!!! - how the hell did we get into a situation where our governments are allowed to know everything we communicate electronically?

Imagine how outraged everyone would be if the government wanted to have the right to open written letters before they get delivered ...

[tim]

I know!!!!!! - how the hell did we get into a situation where our governments are allowed to know everything we communicate electronically?

Imagine how outraged everyone would be if the government wanted to have the right to open written letters before they get delivered ...

I don't know, but I think they do have that right already, if the letter is "suspicious."

My two cents (or guess) on how this happened is that the gov. is obviously pretty scared and threatened to respond this way. So why are they scared? We've had computers for a while now but it's: 1. clearly a very powerful tool, 2. advancing very fast (look at all the new consumer products constantly invented - everything's outdated before the year is over), and 3. it's still rather overwhelming. Yeah, we've had significant and historical advances in technology forever, especially in the past hundred years. But today's world is very, very different, the technology is really defining so many aspects of our lives, and is changing not every couple of decades but every month. The government not only wants in on it all but is well known for secretly promoting the latest technology. Certainly not all but a lot of technology comes from some military use first. So they love it and we love it but they're also hyperventilating about it all, and so we.

There's always been a philosophical (and now scientific) debate and fear over "machines verses man," epecially today. And "what if this gets in the wrong hands...etc." All of it was there simmering on the bottom but got blown out into the open on 9-11, when the world outlook instantly and permanently changed. Put that all together and that's why the gov is nervous about computer technology and nervous period - right or wrong or both.