Model Liskula Cohen Fights Hate Blogger In Court

In news that will strike fear in the hearts of hate bloggers and trolls everywhere, model Liskula Cohen was able to get Google to reveal the name of the person who'd been keeping a hate blog of her, "Skanks in NYC."

Initially, the blog was just taken down, and Google refused to reveal the identity of the hate-blogger. Cohen's lawyer sued Google and demanded that the bloggers identity be revealed, which most of us thought would never happen. 

Earlier this week, however, a judge surprisingly sided with Cohen because the photos used on the site might make people think she was promiscuous.  Cohen says her main motivation for finding the identity of the blogger (who turned out to be someone Cohen frequently saw lurking in the background at parties) was because it was difficult for her to find to work; clients would google her and find the blog, which had photos of Cohen at clubs and parties at not-so-flattering angles. She plans on suing the blogger for defamation.

If Cohen wins her defamation suit (and it sticks), it'll set an interesting precedent. What will it mean for sites like ReBlogging NonSociety, a site dedicated to parsing blogger Julia Allison's posts, or even for any standard celebrity gossip blog, which makes hundreds of exaggerated and negative statements about real people in a day? 

Anne Salisbury, the blogger's attorney, made the point in court these kinds of hyperbolic, vulgar statements (like calling Cohen a "skank") is par for the course on the Internet these days. Have a look at any YouTube comment thread and you'll see what passes for "conversation."

At the center of this argument is Google, and how much information they're willing to give up in the name of fighting these cases. While Cohen does deserve to know who created this blog, the anonymity of the Internet is something should still be respected. And with every case like this, the idea that what we do online is private gets more and more shattered.

Now the fight is on Cohen, and having to prove that she is indeed, not a "skank in NYC."

Today, The New York Post revealed the identity of the hate-blogger. Her name is Rosemary Port and she is a former telemarketer and club promoter. Almost comically, she tells the Post she's "shocked" her right to privacy was violated. I guess she forgot Cohen had a right to privacy as well. 

As to why Port felt compelled to create a hate blog on Cohen, naturally, it had to do with some guy.  The NY Post reports that, per sources, Cohen was bad-mouthing Port to her then boyfriend Daniel Dimin. Already Port's "friends" are talking tho the press, saying that she's "spread rumors before" and that she's "just this way." 

Cohen denies she said anything, previously she'd characterized her hate-blogger as someone who she just saw at parties who she had no relationship with.  Cohen sued Port for $3 million dollars in damages in a defamation suit today.