Last week, a U.S. court ordered Google to reveal the identity of an anonymous blogger who called a New York fashion model, Liskula Cohen, a "psychotic, lying, whoring ... skank" on its subsidiary site Blogger.com.
As soon as Google turned over the blogger's email address, Cohen recognised it as a woman she knew from the New York party scene. According to the New York Post, the embittered blogger's name is Rosemary Port.
"She's an irrelevant person in my life," Cohen told ABC television's Good Morning America. "She's just somebody that, whenever I would go out to a restaurant, to a party in New York City - she was just that girl that was always there."
Moreover, Cohen said she phoned Port to forgive her - but the woman has yet to apologise.
Her attorney Steven Wagner said the decision would send a message to bloggers about the limits of permissible Internet speech.
"The internet is no longer a safe harbour for defamatory language," he said.
What is defamation?
Defamation occurs when a person makes a statement about another that damages their reputation. The tort has two prongs: "libel" and "slander." Libel is defaming somebody in writing; while slander is spoken defamation.
** Additional Information & Advice **
If you believe you have been a victim of defamation, you may want to speak with a solicitor who specialises in defamation. You can
be matched with a solicitor in your area for free via solicitor
matching services, which can also help you to understand the best course of
action for your situation and whether you are ready to hire a solicitor.
