I used to link to a blog called Nightjack.  It was written by a, then, anonymous Detective Constable and was about his working life as a DC.  I even once published one of his posts on my blog.  However, in a case setting legal precedent, The Times has been allowed to reveal who this officer is and it has transpired that the officer, DC Richard Horton, has been issued with a written warning by his force.

The paper reports that many of his posts could be traced back to specific prosecutions.  However, that in itself wouldn’t be an issue as much of the information about a case becomes public knowledge throughout the process and by the time the verdict has been delivered everything (or just about) is in the public domain.  So, really, as long as the information wouldn’t have been with held by the court, was breaching injunctions or was released (and tracable) at an inapropriate time I fail to see where the issue is (and the paper certainly does not make this clear).

The legal precedent set effectively means that every blogger writing under a pseudonym, like I do, is at risk of having their identity revealed at any time and has little protection under the law.  Some food for thought about exactly what we blog about.

• Civil Law
• Civil Liberties
• English Law