Court Protects Anonymous Web Commenters

Court Protects Anonymous Web Commenters

A court in Montana has ordered newspapers to conceal the identity of the writers who post comments on their web site. Writers' sources are also required to be kept in anonymity as stated by the court's ruling.


Montana newspaper The Billings Gazette argued the privacy rights of its writers who posted comments on its site under the pseudonyms "CutiePie" and "Always, wondering."  District Court Judge G Todd Baugh sided with the newspaper and ruled that the writers' identity be kept in confidentiality.



Judge Baugh ruled that the anonymous commenters were protected by the Montana shield law, the Media Confidentiality Act, which safeguards news organizations, as well as "any person connected with or employed by [a news organization] for the purpose of gathering, writing, editing, or disseminating news."