EON

York University, Canada–A recent ruling by the Ontario Superior Court has set new limits on the right of e-mail account holders to remain anonymous. It is not their right to freedom of speech that has been limited, but the upholding of the rights of citizens to be protected from slanderous statements.

In this case, involving the appointment of the new Dean of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies at York University, an anonymous e-mail was sent to the president of the university. This e-mail claimed that the new dean had misrepresented his credentials, and that the president of the university had committed academic fraud. It turns out that the statements in the e-mail were not slanderous, yet to protect the right of the individual to pursue litigation in circumstances that could possibly be slanderous, the court ruled in favor of the university.

The court ordered Google, as well as two other large telecommunications companies to reveal the identities of the individuals that had access to the e-mail account. The e-mail was not even entirely anonymous. One professor, David Noble was listed in the e-mail as a contact person for a group of concerned faculty. It is clear that the university could have targeted Professor Noble in court for libel. Instead, they pursued all people connected with the e-mail account. Professor Noble contends that the university was using this legal action to keep the faculty in check.