Judge orders Internet commenter's name revealed

A warning to people who post comments online: Anonymous is not forever. A Philadelphia judge has ordered the owners of Philly.com -- who also own The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News -- to disclose the identity of a person who posted a comment online.

On Feb 26, Common Pleas Court Judge Jacqueline Allen ordered the news company to disclose the poster's identity, along with any comments he or she posted from Aug 10, 2012, through January 2014. Philip Blackman, a lawyer for the person who posted the comment, could not be reached. In court filings, he argued that his client's comments were protected by the First Amendment. Blackman said the description of Dougherty was not "defamatory per se." Dougherty's lawyer, Joseph Podraza Jr, called Judge Allen's ruling "absolutely appropriate."

"I think it does bring accountability back to people who post things online, and I hope it disposes of the notion that just because you're anonymous, you can say defamatory things about other people and not be held accountable for it," he said.

[March 9]