Maryland’s Highest Court Adopts Dendrite Standard for Unmasking Anonymous Forum Posters in Defamation Actions By Evan Kubota –- Edited by Miriam Weiler Independent Newspapers, Inc. v. Brodie Court of Appeals of Maryland, February 27, 2009, No. 63 Opinion On February 27th, the Court of Appeals of Maryland reversed a lower court’s order compelling discovery of the identities of five anonymous Internet forum posters in a defamation action. The court had granted certiorari on its own initiative.  While the court’s holding ... Read More...

Fifth Circuit Holds No Safety Exception to Communications Decency Act ISP Immunity By Anna Volftsun — Edited by Nicola Carah Doe v. MySpace, Inc. Fifth Circuit, May 16, 2008, No. 07-50345 Slip Opinion On May 16, 2008, the Fifth Circuit unanimously upheld the Western District of Texas, finding Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA 230”) barred a parent’s claims for negligence and gross negligence against the social networking site, MySpace.com. The suit was brought on behalf of Doe’s ... Read More...