Sarah Conroy on the perils of online posting

THE need for those participating in blogging forums to exercise caution when posting their comments has been taken to a new level following the 2007 case of Sheffield Wednesday FC and others v Hargreaves.

The owner of the www.owlstalk.co.uk website was compelled to release the names of anonymous bloggers who had posted potentially defamatory comments about the club’s directors.

The decision sets a clear warning for those who, believing they are protected by the anonymity of a username, voice their opinions all too freely.

A quick search reveals numerous Liverpool FC blogging forums containing comments about the issues surrounding the club's owners.

If they were to consider any of the posts defamatory, they could seek an order that the writers’ identity be revealed.

Where the comments are considered by the judge to be potentially defamatory, it is now likely the court will order the release of the information and a costly defamation action may follow.

When joining a blogging forum, the majority of sites will require the member to agree to the terms and conditions. These will usually state that a user cannot post defamatory comments. Anyone in breach of these conditions is likely to have their account closed and any posts removed, but this will only be the case where the site has an active monitoring system in place.

SARAH CONROY is a solicitor in the commercial dispute resolution team at Weightmans.