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The U.S. legal community is engaged in a serious but inconclusive dialogue on issues relating to anonymous speech on the Internet. To be sure, several basic questions relevant to Internet speech have been settled: in a 1997 case; the Supreme Court determined that strict scrutiny applies to Internet content regulation, and in a 1995 case, the Court recognized a First Amendment right of anonymous speech. Yet the 1995 case did not arise in an Internet setting, and the scope of expressive freedom in certain Internet scenarios remains disputed. Over the past ten years, courts and commentators have grappled with anonymous blogging cases, proposing a spectrum of legal standards for pre-trial discovery of bloggers' identities. As experience accumulates, this legal doctrine should stabilize, and doctrine affecting related issues should emerge as well. This chapter argues that the stabilizing process will depend on clear analysis of the relevant First Amendment value. The truth-seeking value should guide the formulation of rules for anonymous Internet speech.

ISBN

9780415782654

Publication Date

2013

Publisher

Routledge

Disciplines

Communications Law | Computer Law | Law | Privacy Law

Anonymous Speech on the Internet, in Amateur Media: Social, Cultural and Legal Perspectives (Dan Hunter et al. eds., 2013)

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