Blog and Tell?

NJ high court to hear arguments in blogger protection case

New Jersey's Supreme Court on Tuesday is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that focuses on whether protections given to journalists should apply to people who post online.

Freehold-based software company Too Much Media wants Shellee Hale to reveal her sources for  message board posts she made claiming customer information was compromised.

The company sued her for slander.

Hale claimed she's protected by the same shield laws that journalists often use to argue against giving up information or sources in cases of confidentiality.

A judge previously ruled that Hale's posts were nothing more than the rants of "a private person with unexplained motives for her postings."

The judge said bloggers and people who post comments on websites can't be given the same protections as information compiled though the process of news gathering.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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