Today, she won.

Arguments will surely fly across the ‘net – our sister blog on Beliefnet, Reformed Chicks Blabbing – has already weighed in with a resounding ‘that’s it for free speech’ – but I see it as a more nuanced decision on the part of the court.

First of all, I want to know – is the blogger going to be publicly outed, or only forced to reveal his or her identity to the wounded party? This makes a big difference in how I see the ethics of the case. 

Secondly, do we not care at all for protection of people’s good names? We know cyberbullying is a very real, and a very modern menace. Should there not be some redress for people being attacked online? In my opinion, yes, though I’d say it should probably fall in the ‘start your own blog and fight back that way’ category.

My conclusion? Yes, unmasking bloggers – vicious, bitchy or otherwise – is potentially the start of the end for free-wheeling internet freedom of speech. And yeah, I don’t think that’s such a wonderful thing. No other human tool allows so many regular Joes a voice as does the world wide web, and that’s a privilege indeed. However, to me the internet is a privilege, not a right. And I don’t see why the same laws that govern slander and libel in other venues shouldn’t apply to it as well. 

If we want there to be some redress for those who are bullied by unscrupulous online attackers, we need carefully thought out laws to protect them. So, I think it seems ok to me to have the blogger’s identity revealed to Ms. Cohen and her lawyers – but not to the rest of us. We’ll see if that turns out to be the result.