Courts
The Electronic Frontier Foundation will argue Friday against a subpoena seeking the identity of an anonymous Internet poster, it said. The U.S. District Court in San Francisco set a hearing in USA Technologies vs. Stokklerk, in which the technology company…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
is seeking the identity of a Yahoo customer using the nickname “Stokklerk” who posted comments on a Yahoo message board criticizing the company and its CEO for falling stock prices, high executive pay and lack of profitability. Another commenter had similar complaints. The company filed suit in Pennsylvania alleging the statements violated federal securities regulations and issued a subpoena through the California court. EFF said the First Amendment protects people’s right to speak anonymously, particularly about matters of public concern like the performance of publicly traded companies. In a filing opposing Stokklerk’s motion to quash the subpoena, USA Technologies said the First Amendment doesn’t grant the right to make defamatory comments and hide behind anonymity. Stokklerk’s comments aren’t valid criticism but are attempts to damage the company’s reputation and lower its stock price, the company said. “This is not a case where revealing an anonymous poster’s identity could cause embarrassment or lead to the disclosure of highly sensitive information. Nor is this a case of a regrettable statement made in the heat of the moment. Rather, Stokklerk has engaged in a deliberate, systematic and ongoing effort to defame USAT,” the company said. It said that by accusing the company of running a Ponzi scheme, Stokklerk has given the company a valid defamation complaint.