Court Compels Cablevision to Disclose Identify of Parties Posting to Yelp.com

Gerald L. Cohen, D.D.S sought to force Cablevision to disclose the identity of an individual who posted negative comments to Yelp.com. Cohen intended to use that information to commence a lawsuit for defamation against the poster. Previously, Yelp.com had been compelled to provide to Cohen the IP address of the poster, which lead Cohen to discover that Cablevision had set up the account at that IP address. With that information in hand, Cohen asked the Court to force Cablevision to disclose that person’s identity. The Court found that Cohen had demonstrated an injury and meritorious claim and was entitled to this information notwithstanding the ordinary expectation of a poster’s privacy. The Court would not allow unchecked speech, finding that the “use of electronic speech requires a balancing of the two interests, namely free expression versus the right to respond to such expression. Free speech in the electronic age is not unfettered.”