I've created a parody website about a local political figure (just out of personal interest). But now it has become popular and I want to put ads on it. Since the subject of the parody is a political figure, I know satire is protected. However, you never know if i might get sued for libel. At any rate, I don't want anyone to find out that I made the site. I registered the domain name anonymously (through a service)... so I think that should be ok. But regarding the ads, I was wondering if there is any way to find out who has created adsense ads (or alternatives) ?
If you are absolutely sure you need to keep your real identity secret, people finding you via the ads is not your primary concern. If someone is planning to sue you they will subpoena your hosting company for your information and your hosting company will probably comply without much of a fight. I don't personally know of a way to find out who owns the AdSense ads without asking Google, but if someone is going to sue you they may try that as well. I doubt finding you by sending a subpoena to Google is nearly as likely as sending a subpoena to your hosting company. With the amount of slander and libel the political figures have to deal with I doubt they will be trying to sue individual websites, no matter how popular. Given that if someone wants to sue you they will find you, here are some other ideas I have to help you protect yourself: 1. Try to make sure that your posts contain no factual information that you do not know to be true. Your opinion cannot be libel even if it is false but if you state it in fact form and it is false it can be libel. 2. If you allow user interaction just make sure you make them check a "agree to terms of service" box before posting anything and include a clause in the terms of service that makes them agree to be liable for their own posts. Not sure if this is really an issue for you though... Hope some of that helped and good luck with the site. Make sure to contact an attorney if this is really a big concern for you. A short consultation doesnt cost that much (especially if your site is poplar now) and might well be worth it! -- Nathan Enns