Free Speech, Privacy Showdown in East Texas Hospital Blog Rumble

A defamation lawsuit by a hospital in Paris, Texas, against an anonymous blogger could set precedent for the limits of privacy on the Internets in Texas. A state district judge plans to tell a Dallas-based ISP to turn over the name of the anonymous blogger who has been critical of Paris Regional Medical Center. At question is whether a someone can strip a blogger of anonymity simply by filing a lawsuit (whether the suit has merit or not), which when you think about it would throw cold water on free speech on the Internet. There’s not much in Texas case law on what the standard should be.

As the blogger’s attorney, James Rodgers puts it, “Anybody could file a lawsuit and say, ‘I feel like I’ve been defamed. Give me the name.”

The other question is, if the blogger’s appeals fail, will the Dallas ISP ranch up and defy the court order, as some ISPs in other jurisdictions have?