View topic - CBC on the John Doe motion! :: Free Dominion - Principled Conservative - Party and Canadian Politics

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 4:05 pm Post subject: CBC on the John Doe motion!

Ontario judge orders website to reveal identity data on anonymous posters

Last Updated: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | 3:38 PM ET
CBC News

An Ontario Superior Court judge has ordered a pair of website owners to turn over identifying information about eight people being accused of defamation after posting anonymous comments.

"In my view, the defendants are under an obligation to disclose all documents in their power and control," Justice Stanley Kershman said in a ruling delivered Monday to defendants Connie Wilkins-Fournier and Mark Fournier of Kingston, Ont., who run the website Free Dominion.

Kershman also ordered the couple to pay $5,000 in costs to the plaintiff in the case, Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman, described by Kershman as an "anti-hate speech advocate."

Warman had requested, for use in a court action, access to documents that would assist in identifying the anonymous posters and their locations, such as:

Email addresses and all personal information.
The IP addresses of their computers.
Documents concerning the establishment and operation of the website, such as hosting agreements, billing information, and website registrant names.
The Fourniers had argued that people using the message boards do so with the expectation of anonymity and may make statements or provide information that they wouldn't normally with family, friends or co-workers.

However, Kershman cited a 2004 case that said privacy cannot be used to protect a person from the application of civil or criminal liability, and that privacy rights must be balanced against the rights of other interests and the public interest.

He also cited a 2008 child pornography case, in which a judge ruled that a person's name, address and the name of their spouse are not information that one would expect to keep private from the state under such circumstances.

Fournier, posting on the Free Dominion website late Monday, said the ruling has a number of implications.

"Most importantly it means that anyone can gain access to a Canadian forum owner's confidential records on its members simply by filing a lawsuit (that could later be dropped) against the forum operator."

However, he said the couple did not have the funds to appeal and will likely have to comply with the ruling.

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, posting on his blog Tuesday, expressed concern that the decision "feels like a judge anxious to order disclosure, despite the weight of authority that provides some measure of privacy protection for anonymous posters."

Geist said the court must ensure that a proper balance is struck between the rights of a plaintiff and the privacy and free speech rights of an anonymous poster. In order to do that, it must set a high bar for plaintiffs to meet in order to justify overriding the poster's rights.

The website in question is described in the ruling as "so controversial that it is blocked to employees of the Ontario Public Service" — something that Geist said is "not much of a threshold."

Warman is in the process of suing the Fourniers, alleging they "falsely and maliciously published and circulated" information on the site that claimed Warman had posted hateful, racist words. The allegations have not been proven in court.
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"...single men must have access to donor eggs and “gestational carriers.” - David Johnston, Governor General Appointee
(The man Stephen Harper calls "the best of Canada")

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 4:07 pm Post subject:

Hit the link and read the comments
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FREE DOMINION FORUM RULES
All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope ~ Sir Winston Churchill
"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people''''s money." Margaret Thatcher

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 4:08 pm Post subject:

Presumably then NAMBLA should have to reveal the identities of its membership.

Why all this scurrying about in Ottawa?

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 4:09 pm Post subject:

It's up on slashdot too:

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/25/1758235
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Opinions posted on Free Dominion are those of the individual posters and are not the opinion of Free Dominion or its operators.

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 4:26 pm Post subject:

Interesting that CBC has picked up this story when many others in the MSM have not (yet).

Even more interesting is that CBC runs quotes directly from the blogosphere. Who is really supplying the news these days!

We need more of this since a high proportion of the citizenry are not plugged into the internet. Perhaps those not on the blogs will begin to understand that there is a lot at stake in this issue.

Ottawa must be feeling some pressure that they did not believe would materialize.

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 5:47 pm Post subject:

It's on Yahoo now, too.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/ad/cbc-090325-canada-technology_tech090325_anonymous_posters
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"...single men must have access to donor eggs and “gestational carriers.” - David Johnston, Governor General Appointee
(The man Stephen Harper calls "the best of Canada")

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 5:58 pm Post subject:

Connie, from my perspective the biggest benifactor of this ruling will be the CHRC. They can effectively silence their critics by applying for a similar ruling. Without evidence they can shut down bloggers and posters who are critical of them without all that messy signing up to internet sites and posting hateful posts. They can simply use their status as proof that the person must of been guilty of wrong doing thus no evidence is required. They can persecute us on masse now, none of us are safe from our own elected government.

I do not understand why a legal liberty organization hasn't taken your case and run with it? It reeks of political persecution to me.

Can the ruling be set aside to investigate if the Judge was in conflict of interest as alleged by a poster in another thread?
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Section 13 reminds me of this poem: I am judge I am jury says cunning fury. Ill try the whole case and condemn you to death

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 5:59 pm Post subject:

My favorite post that I read on the Yahoo forum?

"Fnck 'em if someone doesn't claim to kill people, to blow themselves up in a public place, or any other things like this then they should be able to remain anonymous. But defamation? what the fnck?! The judge is a stupid wanker who licks Harper's balls, how's that? do i go to court?! you gotta be fncking kidding me. "
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My Life Includes:
FREE DOMINION. A Voice Exposing the Twin Handmaidens of Despair- FEAR & IGNORANCE

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 5:59 pm Post subject:

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 6:02 pm Post subject:

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 6:11 pm Post subject:

Posting the letter of endorsement for people that click in to read this thread only. As a matter of fact I will probably post this letter often!

April 3, 2002

To Free Dominion Members

Congratulations on your Free Dominion Banquet

As the leader of the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, I want to thank you for the volunteer work you are doing to promote principled conservatism. Thank you for providing a discussion forum for the Alliance's National Council Candidates. It is through hard working volunteers like yourself that we will defeat the Liberals.

The internet will continue to play an increasing role in the interactive citizen government e-relationship. Free Dominion is on of the many steps in that direction.

I'm sorry my wife Laureen and I are not able to attend your banquet this evening. I applaud your efforts in rewarding outstanding principled conservatives such as my good friend and colleague Peter Shuley. Peter's sudden death in November was a great blow to myself personally as well as the party. Peter's grassroots democratic legacy will live on as our party continues to reach out to average Canadians.

Sincerely,

Stephen Harper
Canadian Alliance Leader
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My Life Includes:
FREE DOMINION. A Voice Exposing the Twin Handmaidens of Despair- FEAR & IGNORANCE

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 6:14 pm Post subject:

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 6:36 pm Post subject:

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 7:04 pm Post subject:

Posted: 03/ 25/ 09 7:08 pm Post subject:

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