UPDATE: Google hands blogger's IP address to authorities

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 28 Nov 2007 at 10:37

Israeli newspapers are reporting that Google has handed over the IP address of an Israeli blogger, accused by the authorities of "slandering" three local councillors.

The anonymous blogger apparently used Google's "Blogger" service to accuse three Shaarei Tikva council members of corruption and having ties to the local criminal underworld.

According to the reports, Google initially refused a request by the courts to disclose the blogger's IP address, citing concerns over free speech.

However, in a pre-ruling, Judge Oren Schwartz ruled that the blog's content was the equivalent of "criminal defamation", raising the spectre of obstruction and criminal proceedings being brought against the company should it continue to holdout.

A Google spokesperson informed PC Pro that the "IP address was given over after Google was issued with a court order, something we have to comply with. Some sources are reporting that it happened without the order, which is frankly not true."

The IP address was subsequently taken to the blogger's ISP which exposed their identity to the investigators.

Quite how the news will affect user confidence in Google is anyone's guess, however, at a European press day in June the company's chief executive Eric Schmidt admitted that the company could be in trouble if users lose trust over data privacy.