Appeals court refuses to unmask anonymous donut shop critics

Ars Technica reports:

Websites should not be forced to cough up identifying information about users who leave anonymous comments, according to the Maryland Court of Appeals. The court overturned a previous ruling late last week, saying that anonymous posters should have the same First Amendment rights as others on the Internet, and that they should be given the opportunity to respond to the threat of subpoena before having their identities handed over without their consent.