Court ruling: Bloggers have no right to anonymity
The Supreme Court in London has ruled that blogging is "a public and not a private activity". Bloggers therefore have no automatic right to anonymity.
The Supreme Court in London has ruled that bloggers do not have an automatic right to anonymity. Blogging is "a public and not a private activity". The criminal investigator Richard Horton, who ran a politically satirical blog as "Nightjack", had wanted to prohibit the Times newspaper from revealing his identity. Horton applied for an injunction, which the High Court has now refused. The court argued that the public had a legitimate interest in knowing who was making "such serious criticism of police activities".
Under the protection of anonymity, the detective took up police cases, placed them in political contexts and made satirical attacks on politicians. In April, Horton was awarded the "Orwell Prize" for political journalism for his unsparing and often controversial look at everyday police, social and political life. The "Nightjack" blog, which sometimes had 500,000 visits per week, has since been deleted. This caused horror in the English-language blogosphere, as anonymous blogs with a sometimes revealing thrust are widespread in England and the USA.
Under the protection of anonymity, the detective took up police cases, placed them in political contexts and made satirical attacks on politicians. In April, Horton was awarded the "Orwell Prize" for political journalism for his unsparing and often controversial look at everyday police, social and political life. The "Nightjack" blog, which sometimes had 500,000 visits per week, has since been deleted. This caused horror in the English-language blogosphere, as anonymous blogs with a sometimes revealing thrust are widespread in England and the USA.
