The identity of a blogging British police officer going by the pseudonym “Night Jack” has been discovered by The Times newspaper and is soon to be published, after attempts by his lawyers to get an injunction preventing the exposé failed.

In the High Court, Mr Justice Eady ruled that blogging was “essentially a public rather than a private activity” and as such it was in the public interest to reveal his identity.

Unlike The Daily Telegraph, whose revelations regarding MPs expenses were definitely in the public interest, all The Times is likely to achieve is the loss of an interesting and insightful blog. Well done. read more

In a story so short it could fit into a handful of tweets, notorious British tabloid The Sun reports that Beyonce Knowles is planning legal action against those who are pretending to be her on Twitter.

Apparently, her sister Solange said that she was being pestered by someone pretending to be the singer.

Whether this is a legitimate story is another matter. Though Twitter has been known to shut down accounts that either impersonate or are otherwise dubious, it’s possibly a better idea to ensure that your official Twitter account is well publicised so that the fakers can then be easily identified.

(Hat tip @kevindixie)

In “The Outing of a Blogger: Social Transparency or Violation?” I started this short series on the outing of a popular Alaska personal blogger, Mudflats (aka AKMuckraker or AKM), unveiled by a state politician.

The question I want to tackle in this article is the issue of the legality of blogger anonymity and what protects bloggers and not. This is a huge topic, so I’m only going to scratch the surface.

In many countries, there are no laws protecting freedom of speech nor journalists or bloggers. There may be protections for journalists, but none for bloggers. In countries where you would expect there to be such laws…it’s amazing how few there are and how flexible those laws can be.

Does a blogger have the right to privacy and anonymity? What rights do others have to expose them and why? read more

While courts can slap gagging orders on established media to stop certain information being published, it’s very clear that they have little control over what members of the public post online on blogs and forums.

So it is with the case of Brendan Sokaluk, the man accused of deliberately starting one of the bush fires in Victoria, Australia.

The court may have stopped the newspapers from divulging Sokaluk’s photo and street address, some bloggers have been posting such information online. read more

For someone who’s not an US citizen, the lawsuit scare is somewhat far into the back of my head. That might be a luxury you can’t afford, so you might want to consider some kind of insurance for potential lawsuits. Silicon Alley Insider points to Media Bloggers Association, which offer law services for bloggers, including liability insurance programs that are way more economic than the expensive ones geared at the old media guard.

While this might be a good idea, I must second SAI on another point as well: health insurance. You might want to look up that alley first, because after all, your health is more important than your money, and you’ll probably not piss people off like Michael Arrington does.

In part one, we discussed the DMCA safe harbor provision as it pertains to bloggers, we looked at the elements of the law, what exactly they said and even the elements that compose a proper DMCA notice.

But even though the law itself is generally well understood, that does not mean it is not abused. Some, either through accident or malice, file false DMCA notices and demand removal for content that is not infringing. Others, unwittingly sacrifice the protections the law provides by not responding appropriately.

Bearing in mind that I am not an attorney, it is worth taking a few moments to think about strategies for using and handling DMCA notices. Because, whether you receive one or have to send one, it is best to be prepared for what is expected of you. read more

There are few laws that affect bloggers more directly than the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (PDF) safe harbor provisions. Not only do bloggers use it to secure removal of their works when copied without permission, but many also take advantage of its protections to offer new services to their readers.

But the safe harbor provisions are also one of the least understood laws actively being used. Many do not understand exactly what the DMCA safe harbor protections do and what they protect protect. As such, they do not understand what their rights and obligations are under the law.

So we’re going to take a moment and analyze what the law actually says and how it applies to bloggers, both as content creators and as hosts, and look at how we can best use the law as it is written today.
read more

A recent article in ABC News paints a fairly grim picture about the current state of blogging. According to the article, as well as the Media Law Resource Center, there have been 159 civil and criminal court actions taken against bloggers since 2004 with countless others threatened into silence before any kind of action was filed.

Though the number of actions taken are still very small compared to the number of bloggers writing (Technorati was tracking over 70 million blogs at its last report), the threat of legal action is enough to scare many bloggers into changing the way they write, removing content or otherwise altering their site.

The problem is that, even if the image of bloggers being sued is an exaggerated one, the image of bloggers being threatened with such suits is much less so. For every lawsuit that reaches trial, there are dozens that are settled and for every one that is settled there are likely hundreds that are threatened, but never filed.

This has helped to create a climate of fear, one that bloggers need to be prepared for.
read more

British companies which pretend to blog as ordinary members of the public, or post multiple positive reviews as if from consumers, are now breaking UK law, yet many don’t know anything about the new legislation, according to Brands2Life.

Its director, Gareth Thomas, said that, “Most people don’t know about this law,” adding, “there is a misconception that these devices are clever, but they can backfire.”

The new Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations legislation came into effect at the end of May 2008.

Drew Benvie, director at Hotwire, said, “This law change affects everyone in PR. If customers have any presence online, it’s definitely their business to know about it.”

(Via PR Week)

Finding a new host is never easy.

First, one has to choose the kind of hosting and the plan that they need, something that is almost impossible with a new site. Second, they have to find a quality host at a reasonable price, which is also difficult because nearly all hosts have at least some negative reviews and some devout fans.

However, one area that often gets overlooked when picking a new host is the legal side of the relationship. Hosts and their clients have a complicated and somewhat delicate legal arrangement between and now two companies approach it exactly the same way.

Though no one enjoys reading the lengthy agreements we have to sign, there is actually some very important information in there, including the following items.

Country of Origin

One of the first things to look at when considering a host is the country it is located in as it determines the laws that it operates under.

Typically speaking, it is best to locate a host that is within your own country as the laws will be more familiar to you, they will be able to provide support in your native language and they will be the easiest to get in contact with.

If that is not practical (IE: There are no acceptable hosts within your country or most of your audience is oversears), selecting a host within the U.S. or EU are good choices as the legal climate there has been stable for a few years now and the rules are fairly standard.

However, more important than the actual country is being sure that you understand what you are getting into and that involves reading through the terms of service and acceptable use policies to be sure that nothing you are going to do will run afoul of their guidelines and result in your site being taken offline against your will.

Things to Look For

When you are going through these terms, be sure to look up these following items:

1. Billing: Billing is one of the most common issues people have with their host. It is important to understand how much will you be charged? When will you be charged it? Is there a setup fee? How will you pay it? Is it automatic or invoiced? Understanding these issues will go a long to ensuring a good relationship with a host.
2. Server Restrictions: In addition to understanding how much space and bandwidth you get, make a note of other restrictions on server use. For example, most shared hosts do not allow “always running” scripts such as chatrooms. Take special note for under what conditions your host can suspend your account, very useful for when you are experiencing a Digg or similar traffic rush.
3. Content Restrictions: I typically try to avoid hosts that do not allow adult material. Though I have no intention of publishing pornography on any of my sites, the definition of adult content is subjective, even within the courtroom, and some articles I’ve written could be mistaken for pornography at first glance. Typically, it is best to have as few content restrictions as legally possible.
4. Copyright/Trademark: Though laws such as the DMCA and the EDEC have largely standardized copyright enforcement by hosts, many still have their own policies and it is best to understand what they are and how they might impact you. Take special note of counter-notice procedures.
5. How Responsibilities: Different hosts and even different accounts on the same host often have disparate responsibilities. Understand what your host is required to support, referring to how “managed” or “unmanaged” your service is. Also, see if there is an uptime guarantee and what happens if it is not met. Also, some hosts offer a guarantee for hardware swap-out times, see if the one you are considering does as well and what the penalty is for them not meeting the advertised time frame.
6. Cancellation: At some point you will probably want to leave. How do you cancel your account? How much notice do you have to give? What happens if you cancel before your contract is up? Every host is different and many make it artificially hard to cancel. It is best to look at this closely before signing up.

Though it looks like a great deal of information to obtain, it should only take a few minutes to get it. Considering the amount of time it takes to find an acceptable host and the amount of headaches such research can save, it makes sense to take a few extra moments and do the research.

Taking a Pass

Most of the time, the information gleaned is just for one’s own knowledge. However, I’ve encountered many situations where one host’s terms of service make me take a pass on them in favor of someone else.

The important thing is to be honest about what you need and examine what is likely to go wrong in your relationship. Also, look at your site from the perspective of someone who is angry with you and seeking to shut you down through any means available, no matter how petty.

Determine in advance what you need and what your most likely sticking points are. Though no host will be perfect, you can find one that mitigates against most of the potential issues.

This may not help you avoid conflict, but it certainly can help you avoid catastrophe.

Conclusions

Though we like to think that the hosting terms of services and acceptable use policies are cookie-cutter and identical, as someone who reads them regularly, I can tell you for certain that they are not.

It is important to read these closely and understand the rules your hosting account will operate under because those rules don’t just impact you, but potentially all of your visitors.

Such legal issues are one of the least “fun” parts about picking a new host, it is one of the most important. Because even if a host is reliable and fast, your site can still go down due to conflicts with your provider and others on the Web.

It is far better to be prepared and be aware than leave it up to chance.