Mystery online attacker bedevils Des Moines company
Source: DesMoinesRegister
Date: 08/11/08
By: Jeff Eckhoff
Link: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs. Dll/article? AID=0...
Officials of a Des Moines company that supplies models and product demonstrators for nationwide promotional events claim that a mysterious Internet poster has cost them $500,000 in business with negative comments and allegations over the past two years.
But they aren't sure whom to sue.
"We don't know her name, and we don't know her physical address, " said Robert Holliday, an attorney for TNT Management. "I've been a lawyer for a long time. This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
An expert says such situations have exploded over the past decade as Internet traffic migrated from large, content-policing Internet portals such as CompuServe and America Online to a slew of smaller providers.
"It's always been possible to sue someone who is slamming you, but what you have is a right without a remedy, " said Michael Fertik, a Harvard University law graduate who founded ReputationDefender.com to help victims of cyber-libel fight back.
"You've got a right to information that the Web site is not obligated to keep, " he said. "And it may take you two years of legal proceedings to get this information.By then, your company's out of business."
TNT officials say they have been plagued by anonymous comments from "John Doe and/or Jane Doe" on Craigslist and other Web sites that allege the models it hired routinely have problems getting paid.
Court papers say the online attacks have been perpetrated by someone in Minnesota with the e-mail address [email protected]. Court battles in four states over efforts to unlock the poster's identity culminated last month at a hearing in which the unnamed woman was questioned by telephone.
The 21-year-old college student, when contacted by e-mail by The Des Moines Register, said she was a former model whose online criticisms of TNT were accurate and defensible. She did not confirm her real name.
"I don't think they're actually going to sue me for anything, " she said. "They're just mad at me for trying to get my money... It's just more of their bullying."
Holliday denied the alleged nonpayment.
"We will find this person, and we will give her an opportunity in a court of law to prove that, " he said.
Court papers say the anonymous comments posted on TNT help-wanted ads and industry bulletin boards have made it difficult for the company to do business. TNT also blames the woman for repeatedly "flagging" its Craigslist ads under a process that automatically leads to their removal after a certain number of complaints.
Documents say that TNT was forced to advertise jobs without using the company name, and that would-be business partners backed out when they learned of previous criticism.
In another prominent Internet case, a federal judge in Connecticut recently rejected pleas by "John Doe 21" that he be allowed to remain anonymous in a lawsuit filed by two female Yale University students. The women alleged that they were harassed over a two years by postings on AutoAdmit.com that purported to describe their sexual history and encouraged posters to stalk one of the women with a cell phone camera.
The woman connected to [email protected], who said she is a Marine officer candidate, said her postings about TNT Management were intended to warn the public about unsavory business practices.
"Other promo models need to know that this company is doing this, and they need to protect themselves, " she said. "Independent contractors aren't protected by labor laws in the United States. The only way to protect yourself from companies like this is just to not work for them."
The woman lost a bid to keep her identity secret. Iowa District Judge Eliza Ovrom recently ordered two Internet companies and the U.S. Postal Service to turn over information that should identify her.
Privacy concerns "cannot shield a person from the consequences of allegedly tortious conduct, " Ovrom wrote. "A person allegedly making false comments such as those involved here cannot expect to remain anonymous indefinitely."
Holliday, TNT's attorney, hopes it's the first step to erase the damage, or at least stop its spread.
"The Internet is a wonderful thing if it's used properly, " he said. "But if you want to cause somebody some problems and hide, that's the way to do it. That's really not what it was intended to do."
More Press
Mystery online attacker bedevils Des Moines company
Anonymous negative comments have effected the revenue of a Des Moines company.
Source: DesMoinesRegister
Date: 08/11/08
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