Rural/Metro demanded the identities of the individuals from Yahoo! but this week dropped its claim saying that because the messages had stopped appearing, it had achieved its main goal.
However, according to a report in Wired.com, lawyers representing the still-unnamed individuals expressed disappointment at being unable to set a precedent on the circumstances under which ISPs is obliged to give companies access to private information when they allege they were wronged.
Presently under US law, if a company serves a court-approved order on an ISP demanding the identity of those alleged to be responsible for defamatory statements, the ISP must comply. The position is similar in the UK. Privacy advocates argue that this is contrary to the US Constitution’s principle of free speech.