Check out Greg Beck's post Video Professor sues anonymous griping posters, demands their identities over at the Consumer Law and Policy blog. The post concerns a lawsuit by an infomercial king known as the Video Professor challenging certain consumer complaint websites ranking his products poorly. The sites also allow consumers to post ratings anonymously.

The Internet has become the preeminent forum for consumers to share information about products and services online. Courts have recognized that the First Amendment protects the right to post criticism anonymously, noting the risk that critical opinions would be chilled if the identity of anonymous critics could too easily be revealed. Indeed, Video Professor's own website advises consumers to search for customer reviews online.