Google forced to identify slanderous blogger

The IP address of a man using Google's Blogger service has been handed over to authorities after the company settled with council members of an Israeli town in the West Bank.

The blogger had been posting slanderous content about members of the council of Sha'arei Tikva. Under the terms of the settlement, Google would give the man up to 72 hours before a court hearing to come forth or his IP address would be handed over.

Google took issue with reports that followed saying it voluntarily handed over the information to Israeli authorities, instead maintaining that it did so only under a court order.

It also said its own terms of service prohibit users from using the service to post content that its hateful, violent, or infringes on copyright, for example. It specifically also warns that such acts could put the user at risk of consequences due to state and federal law.

According to Israeli business site Globes Online, the material on the blog accused the men of criminal activity, including taking bribes, having ties to gangs, and faking a handicap to receive a break on property taxes.

The three slandered councilmen sued the anonymous blogger for 300,000 sheqels, which is equivalent to $77,680 USD. In addition, they asked for a court ruling which would force Google to identify the blogger.

While the Mountain View, Calif. search company at first resisted, the court ruled that the blogger's activities could be considered criminal, which caused it to reconsider.

The identity of the Israeli blogger has not yet been publicly released.

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