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Twitter ordered to provide journalists with details of allegedly defamatory accounts

Summary

In a High Court case, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey ordered Twitter to disclose details of accounts alleged to have posted defamatory tweets about journalists Aoife Moore and Allison Morris. The court granted disclosure orders for the 'Barbara J Pym' account to both reporters and for the 'Northern Whig' account to Morris. No orders were made for the 'Dolly White' account or for any retweets. Twitter, which declined to participate in the defamation dispute, argued the orders were burdensome, but the judge found the evidence justified disclosure. The court will await the outcome of the Twitter disclosure before deciding on any orders against Eoghan Harris, who denies the claims. The judge also rejected Twitter's 60‑day limitation and required the plaintiffs to pay Twitter's costs and ensure the information is used only for redress.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Twitter ordered to provide journalists with details of allegedly defamatory accounts. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• 2020 and 2021 Other
• 2022-12-06 Publication

Why: The journalists claim that they have been the subject of many defamatory tweets published by the accounts and say they have brought the proceedings in order to vindicate their good names and professional reputations. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report