Hi All,
Is anyone have any ideas how could I identify the blog writers? I'd a case where the blogger writes something not nice on certain person, and need to idenfity the blogger.
I had try to contact the blog provider, but no response. Any more ideas on how can I identify and confirm the identity?
Thanks a lot.
—
shukri
Shukri,
I assume this is a legitimate case on behalf of a client, what i'm about to suggest does not count as legal advice If the content on the blog is in anyway 'defamatory' you can issue a 'cease & desist order' to the hosting company via your legal rep. In some cases depending on how you approach the matter with the hosting site you may be able to get the blog site to at least suspend the blogger's account. What i can tell you is that most blog sites are not very co-operative on this - even when provided with proof, due to privacy concerns - but when presented with a possible Liable & Defamation lawsuit - most sites will co-operate - as long you do it via legal channels & provide proof of wrongdoing on the part of the blogger, and by implication the blog site. Take a look at the blog site's user agreement - and see what actions they can take for incidents like this.
Alternative approach - is try & find the person by googling their 'nickname/handle', etc, etc you may find they belong to other groups, have yahoo email accounts, etc & you can start working from there. If you can then get them to engage with you (or another persona of 'similar interests') via IM on say MSN - there is a chance you would be able to id their IP, location, ISP … and take it from there, via ISP abuse reporting to at leats hep put an end to the defamatory postings.
Worst case scenario - depending on the ISP gateway setup in your country - get the national ISP gateway (if you have only one) to block the URL at the national gateway - this means less fall out locally about the content & its affect on the person being defamed.
Most may scream foul - at this - but this is how such problems can be solved in alot of countries - Freedom of speech does not supercede an individual's right not to be defamed, unless of course you happen to be a politician ;). If you client intends to sue for damages - best place to do that from if the hosting site is outside of malaysia - is via a court in Ireland - just ask all the celebs about this 😉
These various strategies have worked for various similar 'cases' in the past when assigned such tasks. I have dealt with alot of cases where either 'confidential company info' has been posted to a blog or forum site, and in some cases defamatory statements about certain clients, and in all have had good success overal in getting the objectionable comment either removed, or in some cases 'blocked' via national ISP gateways - as a last resort. But keep an eye on the individual from time to time - as in some cases - i have only been able to identify the 'person in question' some 10 months later' as sooner or later - most will make some mistake that will help reveal their true identity.
Good luck.
Sure, there are ways that *may* lead you to identify the writer but they all involve investigative efforts, rather than simply posting to a forum. It's hard to speak in generalities, though, without more information.
Is this "not nice" stuff that's being written slanderous? If so, as MindSmith points out, many countries have laws against that. Providers can be compelled via subpeona to provide information (user account info, IP addresses, etc.).
Hope that helps,
H