Bavly Makkar
Doe v. US SEC
Doe v. US SEC
I think anonymous online posting can be ethical, but it depends on what the person is saying. I
think people should be able to give their opinions without always having to give their name. But
people should still be respectful. It isn’t okay to use an anonymous account to lie about someone,
threaten someone, or hurt someone. In Doe v. United States SEC, John Doe used an anonymous
email account to post his opinions. The SEC wanted Google to give them information about the
person who owned the account because the account could be connected to an investigation that
involves Jammin Java stock. The court decided that the SEC could get the information because it
was relevant to the investigation.
People should still use the golden rule even online. The golden rule is that we should treat others
the way we would want to be treated. I think the golden rule is super important when using the
internet. If I don’t want someone to say mean things about me online, then I shouldn’t do that to
someone else. I think anonymous posting is okay when someone is sharing a fair opinion, but
people should still think about how their words affect others. Being anonymous doesn’t mean
that they should be allowed to say anything they want without thinking about the consequences.
Works Cited
Doe v. United States of America Securities and Exchange Commission. United States District
Court, Northern District of California, 4 Oct. 2011. Court Decision