Judge David Carter dismissed the case, ruling that the individuals were not competitors of the company and that “chat rooms do not constitute a business context.”
The American Civil Liberties Union is presently active in two other US defamation actions concerning comments made on bulletin boards, arguing the right of individuals to make comments anonymously.
In one of these cases, the ACLU has been supported by America Online. The ISP filed a legal brief, saying it had handled approximately 475 subpoenas last year seeking to identify anonymous posters. It said that attempts to intimidate on-line critics by filing such actions constitute "an illegitimate use of the courts to silence and retaliate against speakers."