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A state judge in Montana ruled that the state's shield law that protects reporters from disclosing anonymous sources also protects the identity of anonymous commenters on a newspaper Web site, according to the Billings Gazette.
District Court Judge G. Todd Baugh on Wednesday granted a motion by the Gazette to quash a subpoena that sought information on the identity of Web users who posted comments on the paper's site....
"I can't imagine an anonymous comment has much credence whatsoever," Baugh said in the story.
A comment form someone who is willing to publicly stand by what they say, has more credibility.
Of course there are good reasons for saying something anonymously (oppressive regimes, whistle blowing, British libel laws...).
;)
A reporter's promise to protect a source's identity is not given lightly. I was taught that when a reporter promises to protect someone's identity, that promise is to be kept even if it means going to jail for contempt of court.
I think that is very different from anonymous web posters making self-initiated, public posts which may or may not be verifiable.
