The author of the NightJack blog. The officer, Richard Horton, 45,
a detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary.
Thousands of bloggers who operate behind the cloak of anonymity have no right to keep their identities secret, the High Court ruled yesterday.
In a landmark decision, Mr Justice Eady refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of a police officer who is the author of the NightJack blog. The officer, Richard Horton, 45, a detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary, had sought an injunction to stop The Times from revealing his name.
In April Mr Horton was awarded the Orwell Prize for political writing, but the judges were unaware that he was using information about cases, some involving sex offences against children, that could be traced back to genuine prosecutions.
His blog, which gave a behind-the-scenes insight into frontline policing, included strong views on social and political issues.
The officer also criticised and ridiculed “a number of senior politicians” and advised members of the public under police investigation to “complain about every officer . . . show no respect to the legal system or anybody working in it”.
Some of the blog’s best-read sections, which on occasion attracted half a million readers a week, were anecdotes about cases on which Mr Horton had worked. The people and places were made anonymous and details changed, but they could still be traced back to real prosecutions.
In the first case dealing with the privacy of internet bloggers, the judge ruled that Mr Horton had no “reasonable expectation” to anonymity because “blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity”.
The judge also said that even if the blogger could have claimed he had a right to anonymity, the judge would have ruled against him on public interest grounds.
The police officer, the judge said, had argued that he should not be exposed because it could put him at risk of disciplinary action for breaching regulations. But Mr Justice Eady criticised that argument as “unattractive to say the least”.
He added: “I do not accept that it is part of the court’s function to protect police officers who are, or think they may be, acting in breach of police discipline regulations from coming to the attention of their superiors.”
He added: “It would seem to be quite legitimate for the public to be told who it was who was choosing to make, in some instances quite serious criticisms of police activities and, if it be the case, that frequent infringements of police discipline regulations were taking place.”
The action arose after Patrick Foster, a Times journalist, identified the NightJack blogger “by a process of deduction and detective work, mainly using information on the internet,” the judge said.
Hugh Tomlinson, QC, for Mr Horton, had argued that “thousands of regular bloggers . . . would be horrified to think that the law would do nothing to protect their anonymity if someone carried out the necessary detective work and sought to unmask them”. Mr Tomlinson said that Mr Horton wished to remain anonymous and had taken steps to preserve his anonymity.
But Mr Justice Eady said that the mere fact that the blogger wanted to remain anonymous did not mean that he had a “reasonable expectation” of doing so or that The Times was under an enforceable obligation to him to maintain that anonymity.
Antony White, QC, for The Times, argued that there was a public interest in non-compliance by a police officer with his obligations under the statutory code governing police behaviour and also with general public law duty on police officers not to reveal information obtained in the course of a police investigation other than for performing his public duties.
Lancashire Constabulary said: “He has been spoken to regarding his professional behaviour and, in line with disciplinary procedures, has been issued with a written warning.”
What do you all think about this case? Please speak out your mind~ Source from:http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6509677.ece
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Access date: 29.06.09
i will rather say....there is no more private sphere in the internet...not even freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteya..i strongly agree there is no private sphere in de internet.why i say so is coz any1 can find ur blog if they noe ur real identity.they can type ur name or email address in google and click a few links to find out who u r.
ReplyDeletexiao ku: Since you notice that there is no private space in the internet, do u will feel unsecure when those stranger are access to ur profile, do you think there is ethical and privacy issue involve?
ReplyDeleteNini: Then do you feel any unsecure too when find out the stranger can acess to your profile? do you feel that they are invade your privacy?
i think everyone should know and aware that internet is a public sphere rather than private sphere. There is no terms of privacy on internet.
ReplyDeletei think there is no private sphere in blogging through internet, unless you lock your blog through the privacy setting, else if is open to public and there are feedback of your blog, they are public sphere. However, a blog is just a way to express one's thought, it can't change any fact or anything related.
ReplyDeleteif blogger don't want people invade his/her privacy so that's mean he/she might put "private" setting in his/her blog. If blogger post any article into public setting that's mean blogger already admit (indirectly) his/her blog articles will get read/access by somebody else so blogger cannot claims that privacy get invaded as well.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCarrie: i am agree with fiona (2009) said that " no private sphere in blogging through internet", but i still think even you lock your blog through the privacy setting, it still able to let other people to to acccess, because it may hack by people who with bad intention and go thru all your privacy information.
ReplyDeleteSo, Mavis do you will feel angry when you posted your daily photo in public and someone grab it and use it in unethical way.. do you will still feel secure with the blog sphere that provide the free space to you? does it consider as indirectly invade your privacy and cause ethical dillemma for you also?
ReplyDeleteof cos I will feel angry if someone use MY information or photos without MY consent but since everyone already know the fact that the possibility of people might grab your information or photos, thus the responsibility is on your own self rather than blaming people of grabbing your stuff. THIS IS INTERNET. NOT YOUR ROOM. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
ReplyDeleteunsecure?erm..for me i don mind the stranger access to my profile.may b i not a popular ppl,so even they invade my privacy i don think it's a big deal to me.i cant control them to grab my photo n use it in unethical way.the best way to control personal privacy is to do it anonymously.but being annoymously is not as easy as u might think.so USE AT UR OWN RISK.
ReplyDeleteJanette: So do you will choose t secure your blog? which only allow those people who get your consent to view your blog,so the issue of invade privacy can be prevent?
ReplyDeleteNini: So you are agree with what Janette mention, which when the public are access to internet, and post their information to it, they are actually need to bear their own risk?
if can of cos i will choose to secure my blog by blocking those outsider if i don't wish to let strangers view my blog..
ReplyDeleteYea i agree that if you would like to post your blog to be viewed publicly, you need to bear the consequences that people might grab your photo, intrude your privacy, by getting to update with your personal life or opinion given towards something, people might get to know you more, it can be very dangerous if there are people with bad intentions. Who knows one day you being kidnapped, and the person who kidnap you was one of the people who read your blog and get to know where you usually go, and know that your family is affordable because you always show your purchased branded stuffs on your blog.
ReplyDeleteIf you would like to share your blog just with friends and family, you may create password and invite them to browse it. Or else, just lock it for your personal expression.
in my opinion, i wont feel unsecure if any stranger visit my profile because i know blogging is a public space where everyone can access.However, if someone stolen my profile information i will feel intrude to my privacy because they did gt my permission to use my information. So, i only put general information about myself in the blog rather than very private info to avoid this happen. To add on, i will set the password to secure my article if the topic i post is a sensitive issue so that i wont infringe everyone.
ReplyDeleteyes i agree with xiao ku said, "only put general information about myself in the blog rather than very privacy" when bloger know that his/ her blog are able to axcess by everyone therefore they should aware that and take consideration about their level of privacy information. if the bloger post those information on blog and excess to everyone mean that, those information are able to take by other people for use as different purpose. if you think those information is very privacy you won;t post on the public sphere. Therefore when people take ur information from ur blog for other purpose, bloger are lack of authority to angry or blame people. because that is ur responsibility to protect urself and ur information.
ReplyDelete