Google Turns Over Identities of Bloggers on Benfica

Google Turns Over Identities of Bloggers on Benfica(nytimes.com)

16 points by tinkerteller 7 years ago | 2 comments

writepub 7 years ago |

This is worrisome - US laws protect whistleblowers. I'm not a lawyer, and maybe lawyers here can confirm this, but it seems to me that the accused could've explored 'whistleblower protections' as a line of defense.

On a secondary note - what information for Google have regarding the blogger? Was Google the domain registrar or host, or something else.

We need a completely decentralized and anonymous by design TLD, and anonymous hosting providers - a tor for the host

decentralised 7 years ago | |

This wasn't a case of whistleblowing though. It is mounting up to be a case of industrial espionage using a media company posing as "bloggers" to disseminate stolen private correspondence using innuendo and fabrications* with a view to gain illicit advantage over a competitor.

So far every accusation stemming from the stolen documents has failed to prove any criminal wrongdoing and, this is the important bit, every single legal case raised so far in multiple courts has been either dismissed or ruled in favour of Benfica.

* Example: this is a ruling from the Portuguese Media regulator making clear that the bloggers produced fake documents and altered dates and details to make allegations not supported by the stolen documents, so making the case that this is not whistleblowing but an attempt to discredit a business with lies.

http://www.erc.pt/download/YToyOntzOjg6ImZpY2hlaXJvIjtzOjM5O...