You’ve Been Tagged! Substituted Service By Facebook

The Irish High Court recently approved as an acceptable form of 'substituted service' the service of a summons by Facebook. This appears to be the first time an Irish court has permitted service by social media.

'Substituted service' is an exception to the general requirement that personal service of pleadings be effected. The Court may make an order for 'substituted service' where a plaintiff can show that they were unable to effect personal service on a party to proceedings.

Though prior to this decision, the potential forms of substituted service were not exhaustive, registered post was by far the most common method, while the Court rules also envisaged service by notice or advertisement. The non-exhaustive nature of these rules has given the Court the flexibility to develop them in line with the ever growing phenomenon of social media.