Google Dishes Out IP Address of Anonymous Blogger
Google Dishes Out IP Address of Anonymous Blogger
November 28, 2007: Internet giant and global success story, Google has divulged the IP address of a controversial user of its ‘Blogger’ service to an Israeli court without a legal mandate forcing it too.
Having undergone a meteoric rise in popularity, bloggers have become used to a layer of anonymity with service providers only handing over IP addresses when they’re legally forced too. Upsetting this balance is news that Google’s Israel branch has divulged the IP address of an anonymous blogger who was using it’s <>Google Blogger service to authorities without being legally forced too.
The blogger in question was criticising Israeli council members from Shaarei Tikva who were running for re-election. According to a Globes Online report the slandered Israeli council members approached Google directly for the bloggers IP address which can then be used to deduce his real identity and location.
Initially Google had refused to hand over the IP address, but the council members filed slander charges and asked for the court to force Google into handing over the IP address of the anonymous blogger. The preliminary ruling on the case identified that the blog postings raised suspicions of criminal conduct and this has seemingly prompted Google to reach a settlement with the council members where the company gave up the blogger’s IP address without a legal mandate forcing it too.
Google has then handed the IP address to the court and this has lead to his identity being revealed. The blogger was then given 72 hours to appear before the judge or else the IP address would be handed over to the councilmen.
Bloggers identities are often preciously guarded secrets, particularly if they are reporting on something controversial like the recent violence against protestors in Burma where anonymous blog postings became the main source of news from an otherwise blacked out media coverage. Google’s settlement and subsequent handing over of a bloggers IP address without being legally forced into it has the potential to set a dangerous precedent for the scores of blog posters reporting on controversial topics who previously felt protected by the strength of their service providers.