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

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