Tel Aviv District Court Judge Drora Pilpel ruled Thursday that the NRG website must expose the identity of an anonymous reader who posted a response to an article using the name “Yodeah Davar” (“Knows Something”).  The talkback writer claimed that a former head of the Sports Channel owned shares in Mizmor Hafakot, a contractor working for the channel.

Mizmor Hafakot filed a slander suit against NRG, which was settled out of court, and against the anonymous writer.  Judges ruled that the company would have grounds to file a lawsuit against the writer if his or her identity was known due to the fact that the company is not a public figure.  Talkback writers do not have the right to make slanderous statements that could cause financial damage to private companies, the judges said.