Who Are You? Anonymous Speech on Social Media

With the proliferation of social media users over the last few years, people are now able to communicate with the whole world with the greatest of ease. As such, an individual can now broadcast her critiques of a restaurant on site like Yelp!, or provide constructive feedback of a doctor on RateMDs. However, use of social media can go over the proverbial line and become vicious attacks. This is especially true with anonymous or pseudonymous speakers. Identifying anonymous or pseudonymous social media users who act with malice or ill will is not easy. Given this difficulty, the legal system is now being used in an effort to reveal unknown speakers on social media. Consequently, social media companies are being ordered to reveal its users’ identities and users are being identified. Some users are wrongfully being revealed, while others are rightfully being unmasked. This panel will discuss the legal issues involved and how this affects social media companies, users, and public at large.