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Some Blogging Problems Are Best Reported To Police

Occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we'll see a panicked query
I'm getting really creepy comments on my blog from someone who claims to know me or my family. How do I ask Blogger to tell me who is posting those comments?
Some of these questions are from people who watch too much television.

When somebody publishes an anonymous comment on your blog (if you allow anonymous comments), that person is entitled to his privacy - and Blogger isn't going to casually disclose his identity, to you.

If someone leaves you an anonymous comment on your blog, you are disturbed by the content of the comment, and seriously believe the comment to represent a true threat to you (aka "assault"), this is a matter for your local police department to resolve.

If a threat against you - or the public in general - involves content hosted on a Blogger / Google server, you can report such content, using the "Report inappropriate content" process.

If you report a blog to Google, you leave it for Google Legal to handle.

If you report the abusive content, you have to leave the matter in the hands of Google, and wait for them to act on the abuse complaint. Google Legal has to determine if your complaint is actionable, or if an innocent third party is unwittingly involved.

For legal and physical threats, you contact your local or national police agency.

Only your local police can protect you, physically - Blogger / Google cannot do that. Contact your local police department, and request protection.

Let the police conduct an inquiry, get a court order requiring assistance from Blogger / Google, and prosecute the offender. It's not your job to identify, or confront, the offender. Let the police do their job - and you do yours.

If you feel it necessary, hire a lawyer and use the courts system.

If you don't believe the threat is sufficiently real to require police protection, hire a lawyer, and take the case to the courts.

Remain calm, and use common sense.

Short of involving either the police, or the courts, remain calm and use common sense. People who comment on your blog, just as people who publish blogs, are entitled to anonymity - if they choose, and if you permit.

Blogger supports our rights to publish our blogs, or publish our comments, anonymously. Unless someone's use of anonymity constitutes a threat to you - as determined by the local police or a judge - you have no right to violate that anonymity. And Blogger will not help you violate their anonymity, without due process of law.

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