Google Told To Reveal IP Addresses Of Mean YouTube Commenters

from the anonymity-ain't-so-anonymous dept

Back in August we wrote about yet another case involving someone trying to unmask "mean" commenters online. In this case, it involved a consultant named Carla Franklin who was upset that some commenters on a YouTube video had referred to her as a "whore." As we noted at the time, there was some irony in the fact that in the video, Ms. Franklin advises people: "Don't take things so seriously." And, of course, by suing, Ms. Franklin's name has been splashed across the news, along with the fact that she doesn't like being called a whore. Now, as upsetting as it may be to be called a nasty name, chances are very few people would have ever seen these comments, and those that did would not have cared much about random anonymous internet commenters saying something immature. But, by suing, she's called a lot more attention to the whole thing.

Either way, a judge has now ordered Google to hand over the IP addresses of those who made the comments. It's unclear exactly how much Google fought this, though Google isn't always known for fighting to protect the anonymity of its users. It's unfortunate that more and more judges seem quick to demand turning over IP addresses for commenters who are obviously just making dumb comments no one's going to take seriously. But, even if the commenters are revealed, it's hard to see how Ms. Franklin is somehow better off now than if she had just not taken the whole thing so seriously.

Filed Under: carla franklin, ip addresses, mean commenters, privacy, youtube
Companies: google