A New York model is called “a skank” by an anonymous blogger, so she sues Google for the blogger’s name.
A Maryland Dunkin’ Donuts franchise is called “dirty” by another unnamed blogger, so its owner sues a newspaper website to unmask the critic.
And earlier this month, a local online media forum posts a subpoena from a Pittsburgh woman seeking the identity of an anonymous poster so she can sue for defamation.
As anonymous content proliferates across the Internet — one 2006 study estimated that 55 percent of American bloggers post under pseudonyms — so does the opportunity for robust debate, invective, insights, insults and lawsuits.