Some people have a lot of chutzpah. They do something they should have known better not to do. They get caught. Then, instead of owning up to the event, taking it like an adult, apologizing and moving on, they get stupid, look for a scapegoat, and act as if they never did anything wrong to begin with.
Such is the follow up to the post I wrote a couple of days ago when I talked about a blogger who hid behind a fake name and pretty much slandered this model. Through a court order, Google gave up the email address, the model learned who it was and talked to the woman, and all should have been over at that point.
 |
Instead, said “slanderer”, named Rosemary Port, decided that not only was she wronged by Google for giving out her email address, but she’s now going to try to sue Google for $15 million dollars for violating her privacy in responding to that court order.
Okay, the obviously stupidity of the lawsuit aside, can anyone tell me what this woman is thinking, other than she wants her own little bit of publicity now? She stated that her original post only had two visitors before Liskula Cohen, the model she decided to slander, decided to sue to find out who she was. She’s trying to say that Cohen pretty much made a big deal of this, and in fact is the one who violated her privacy with the original lawsuit.
Oh come on now! This is beyond a pot calling a kettle black. This is definitely not taking any responsibility for one’s actions; can anyone say “clueless?” Google has never told anyone that they would have absolute privacy in using Blogger or anything else. We all have heard where, with a court order, Google will release search records of people being investigated by the police or other law enforcement groups. What makes this woman think she deserves any more immunity for what she did than what some of these other people have done?
Of course, there are some free speech advocates who believe this is the start of something bad. They say that, in many circumstances, people deserve to have their anonymity protected, so the rest of us can get information we might not otherwise get. I don’t dispute that, as I wrote elsewhere about someone who lost her job after being as a community blogger, a move I disagreed with because the woman hadn’t written anything disparaging, as far as I could see, about the company she was working for. The sensibilities of companies these days, who feel they have the right to control what workers do outside the workplace as much as within the workplace, is a slippery slope that people balance every day. In my previous post I talked about my own belief in privacy issues, which our friend Sire disagreed with and ended up writing a post on drug testing that’s gotten some very interesting responses both pro and con. It sometimes seems as if we’re moving in a direction where the divide between privacy and doing what’s right is getting wider.
Anyway, I don’t see this woman’s lawsuit going any further than being allowed to file it. She’s having her 15 minutes of fame right now, and she’s the only one responsible for it. If I were Cohen, with this latest move, I’d sue her for slander and defamation just to make a point. But I’m like that; what are your thoughts?
$15 million dollars, what’s on her mind, oh my god! But this makes me think, what’s up with Americans and those HUGE amounts of money they always sue the big companies for? It’s really crazy sometimes, it’s not a joke that in Europe we have this saying “Only in America…” when it comes to lawsuits 🙂
I just don’t get it.
.-= Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Top 10 Most Dangerous Celebrities Online – Jessica Biel In The Lead =-.
Man I wouldn’t even give her two cents for that law suit, damn crazy broad. She wasn’t blonde was she?
Thanks for the linkluv Mitch. Apart from being mates, your content is of such good quality that on more than one occasion it’s given me an idea for a post of my own, and naturally I always give credit where credit is due.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Does An Employer Have The Right To Drug Test Prospective Employees =-.
You’re a good man, Sire, and I’m in full agreement with you on this woman. Some folks never learn the right lessons.
Mitch,
Yes, she is the definition of chutzpah. Looks like she just wants the money and fame. The sad thing is that I wouldn’t be surprised to see her end up on one of these dumb reality TV shows, and probably make a bit of money for it.
~ Steve, the trade show guru
.-= Trade Show Guru´s last blog ..According to Chuck Norris =-.
True Steve. I mean, she’s not ugly, and looks pretty young. You never know; stranger things have happened.
15 Million. Wow, If I knew that someone can get away with this kind of stuff I would have recommended my friend to sue Google for banning his account wrongfully:) Anyway, I agree with you that she has gotten her 15 minutes of fame. Curiously, these 15 minutes might just turn out to be 1 million per minute, lol. I wonder if she will actually get away with it?
BTW, also crossed my mind that this could be a conspiracy to rip Google off, hahaha.
hat’s it Mitch. This is my first talk in your blog, thanks to FBC. Have a nice day.
.-= DiTesco´s last blog ..The Most Important SEO Ranking Factors =-.
Glad you’ve stopped by, DiTesco; hope to see you often. And no, I don’t think she has a snowball’s chance in Hades of even getting it heard, let alone winning anything. But I’m betting she’s going to be on one of those bad tabloid news shows soon enough.
what the hell. no chance of anything happening in my opinon.
.-= will´s last blog ..Piano Lessons Online Review – Don’t Get Scammed =-.
I’m with you, Will. The things some folks will do, eh?
Sigh.. what’s with the world nowadays? It’s like stepping on somebody’s foot on purpose, instead of apologizing but now trying to sue the witness for telling the truth? Just try to think about it this way: what if there’s a much serious crime involved?
Nothing is concealed permanently on internet. Sorry, I just can’t agree there’s a case here against Google.
.-= Ching Ya´s last blog ..How Seriously Do You Take Blog Comments? =-.
Good point, Ching Ya. You know, I’m a big guy, and sometimes while walking in a crowd, I’ll see someone coming towards me and I just stop. They’ll walk into me, look at me, and tell me to watch where I’m going; the nerve! So it happens all the time; no one wants to take blame for their own actions.
I think she is stupid, and is trying to make herself seem like the victim. She isn’t going to get anything.
.-= The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet.com´s last blog ..Using Testimonials To Increase Sales =-.
I think I agree, Behnam, and the goofy woman, if she hadn’t decided to sue Google, her anonymity would still be secure. I wonder if we’ll hear when the judge throws this one out.
Talk about slander!
I’m actually curious about the uncovering of e-mail adressess.
For instance, take a look at this case:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/anti-swingers-blog-poses-as-countryside-christian-center/706880
I wonder if their lawyers could contact Google to release information.
They could, Toni, but they’d have to get a court order to force Google to give it up, and a federal court order at that. What they could do instead is complain to Google about the blog, prove the writer isn’t who he purported himself to be, and they’d remove it. That’s been done many times.
I totally agree with you, Mitch. I will definitely sue her for slander and defamation. No doubt about it.