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Defamation damages against anonymous Facebook troll(s)

By Steven | March 18, 2013

The High Court in Northern Ireland has awarded defamation damages against a defendant known only as “a person or persons adopting the pseudonyms Ann Driver and Alan Driver”.

“Ann” and “Alan Driver” had smeared the plaintiffs’ reputations on Facebook. The INFORRM blog suggests that his/her/their true identity was never established, and the judgment will only bite financially in the unlikely event that they are identified.

The court was also prepared to grant the plaintiff’s anonymity.

The judge said the case demonstrates that “the law, through the courts, penetrates the sheilds and masks of anonymity and concealment. Effective remedies are available and will be granted in appropriate cases”.

If INFORRM is rigtht that the defendants weren’t actually identified, that conclusion seems questionable.

Topics: Defamation | No Comments »

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