Egyptian editor convicted of defamation

An Egyptian criminal court has convicted Yasser Barakat, editor-in-chief of the weekly Al Mougaz of defamation. The suit was filed by Mustafa Bakri, editor-in-chief of the weekly Al-Osbo’ and member of the Egyptian parliament. Barakat has been sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 60,000 Egyptian pounds. Al Mougaz accused Barakat of engaging in illegal profiteering, taking advantage of his governmental positions to buy land for less than the market value.

US “skank” blogger to sue Google

Rosemary Port,  the women behind the blog “Skanks in NYC,” has said she will sue Google for $15 million for breaching its “duty to protect her expectation of anonymity.” Port was named as a result of a court case brought by the Canadian-born model Liskula Cohen, who was angry over being insulted on the site.  Read more here

Court orders offensive blogger to reveal identity

Vogue cover girl has won a precedent-setting court battle to order Google to unmask an anonymous blogger who called her a “skank” on the internet. Model Liskula Cohen says she has not ruled out suing the blogger. The anonymous remarks targeting Cohen’s hygiene and sexual habits were posted on Google’s Blogger.com. The blogger’s lawyer argued that although the comments may have been disgusting they were opinions and protected as free speech. Read more here