Bloggers beware

Time for bloggers such as the ‘fakeiplplayer’ to exercise some caution. A recent ruling by a British court has allowed The Times newspaper to unmask the identity of an award-winning blogger who was earlier just known as “Night Jack—An English Detective.” A popular blog, it chronicles the life of an unnamed police officer in an English town and talks about how officers struggle with police bureaucracy. Night Jack also won the prestigious Orwell prize for political writing. But recently, The Times did some sleuthing to reveal his real identity—detective constable Richard Horton of Lancashire Police.

A blogger’s privacy: Horton’s lawyers argued that bloggers would be “horrified” if their anonymity wasn’t safeguarded. They also pleaded on grounds of “public interest” as the blog contains opinions on many sociopolitical issues relating to the police and the administration of justice.

Why it was shot down: The judge, however, ruled that blogging was “essentially a public activity,” and confidentiality of identities was not legally protected, adding that people were entitled to decide whether officers should communicate such matters publicly.

The upshot: Lawyers in the UK believe this judgment may have a chilling effect on bloggers. Legal experts in India agree. According to Anuradha Salhotra, partner, LLS, the principles talked about in the British case are the same as those enunciated by the Supreme Court of India in its interpretation of the Right to Privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution, which protects the personal intimacies of the home, family, marriage, motherhood etc., from being made public without consent. The disclosure of the blogger’s identity is not a violation of either of these rights and so it is open to a similar judgment in India, she feels.