Defamers often seek to exploit the anonymity offered by the
Internet by making defamatory comments anonymously or under a
pseudonym. In order to bring an action against them, a victim of
such online defamation will first need to identify the defamer.
Although frequently entirely blameless, the owners and operators of
the various social networking sites or platforms on which such
defamatory comments are posted are caught in the cross-fire as they
are uniquely positioned to identify the perpetrator. However, they
may be constrained in their ability to do so on the basis of duties
of confidentiality owed to their users.
Two recent High Court cases highlight an important and
increasingly common procedure where an order can be granted
requiring the disclosure by such third parties to a wronged person
of the identity of alleged wrongdoers, where there is, at first
sight, clear evidence of wrongdoing by those unknown parties. These
orders are known as 'Norwich Pharmacal
