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Brit Court Serves Injunction Via Twitter

Order means days of spoof Twitter accounts may be numbered

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 2, 2009 2:45 AM CDT

(Newser) – Britain's High Court has delivered what's believed to be the first-ever injunction served via Twitter. An anonymous Twitter user who created a spoof account called "Blaney's Blarney" using the photo of lawyer and right-wing blogger Donal Blaney has been sent a message via the site telling him to stop posting, remove his earlier posts, and identify himself to the court.

The move is expected to set a precedent for people seeking to deal with anonymous abuse on the Internet. Blaney says he hopes the injunction will get the Twitterer to reveal his or her identity, although he admits that the user could simply delete the account and vanish. "Whoever it is would be a complete moron if they ignore this order," he told the Guardian. "If they do, I'll go back to court again."

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

The creator of this spoof Twitter account has been sent an injunction telling him to identify himself to Britain's High Court. (Twitter)

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People have to learn that they can no longer hide behind the cloak of anonymity the Internet provides and break the law with impunity. - Matthew Richardson, the barrister
who obtained the injunction

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Brit Court Serves Injunction Via Twitter