Yelp v. Hadeed Carpet Cleaning: Is your anonymous "one-star should have been zero" internet review protected by the First Amendment?

In January, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a ruling requiring Yelp to disclose the identities of numerous anonymous reviewers who left negative comments and scathing reviews of Virginia-based business Hadeed Carpet Cleaning. Yelp unsuccessfully argued that such writings are protected under the First Amendment. Hadeed argued, and the Virginia Appellate Court agreed, that the right to privacy and free speech is much more limited for the anonymous internet commenter and must be balanced against the right to protect one's reputation.  

Come join SABA-DC as we host a dinner series focusing on the First Amendment and privacy law in the internet context. While the topic was prompted by the decision in Yelp v. Hadeed, the conversation will not just be limited to a discussion of the case. 

Our speakers will be: 

Hamza Jilani is the Associate Director of Privacy Programs and Policy at UnitedHealth Group focusing on privacy issues in the health care arena. Previously, Hamza worked at the Ohio Privacy Office in Columbus, Ohio and at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. Hamza received his juris doctor from the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. 

Matthew Schafer is an attorney with Levine, Sullivan, Koch & Schulz, LLP. Matt has represented journalists and media companies in defamation, invasion of privacy, access, and intellectual property cases. Matt received his juris doctor from the Georgetown Law Center and his Masters of Mass Communication from Louisiana State University where his thesis focused on First Amendment problems associated with subpoenas compelling national security reporters to disclose the identities of confidential sources.

Please RSVP to kaamilkhan@gmail.com by Friday, March 21, if you are interested in attending.