You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law.

October 1, 2009 8:08 PM

High court serves first injunction via Twitter.

British court served the notice against an unknown internet user, after ruling that the offending Twitter account, BlaneysBlarney, impersonated the Donal Blaney, owner of law firm Griffin Law, who has a blog in the same name. Called "Blaney's Blarney Order," it's named after the right-wing blogger who filed the complaint.

From Blaney's blog:
Today is a great day for the overwhelming majority of well-meaning, decent people who use the internet and a bad day for bullies. It is, as I have said in the media, the day the scales of justice were tipped back in favour of innocent victims. I am proud that my firm, Griffin Law, has set precedent and made law today.

Blaney isn't the first person to take on rogue Twitter impersonators. Slate's Emily Bazelon has written on impersonation paranoia, and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has tweeted on the problem (if you just want to stalk and don't want to impersonate, you can go here). UK law states that injunctions don't have to be served in person -- they can be delivered via fax or email as well. In this case, the twitter user will be notified the next time they log in. Read up on Twitter's impersonation policy, plus handy guideline for what to do if you are served with an injunction in Britain.

posted by puckish (18 comments total)

Whoever they are, they will be told to stop posting, to remove previous posts and to identify themselves to the High Court via a web link form.

Umm... sure. How could this possibly fail?
posted by Avelwood at 8:23 PM on October 1

Does this mean that I can press charges against "whoever that guy was who scratched my car last weekend?" and the court will process it?
posted by rokusan at 8:35 PM on October 1

Pretty much anything a court produces, as far as I'm aware, is about five times as wordy as it really needs to be. Either that's a lot of 140-character twittering, or a link.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 8:46 PM on October 1

@impostor lol ur gettin sued -da judges
posted by battlebison at 8:50 PM on October 1

I look forward to the Laura Ingals Wilder rising from the grave to pursue this crass imposter.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:57 PM on October 1

Coming soon: Judge Dredd style justice via Twitter.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:59 PM on October 1

@BlaneysBlarney pls halt, delete old posts, come2court on Jan 1,2010 ktnx
posted by filthy light thief at 9:00 PM on October 1

For the record, none of this has anything to do with me.
posted by blaneyphoto at 9:01 PM on October 1

People have to learn that they can no longer hide behind the cloak of anonymity the internet provides and break the law with impunity.

I'm willing to bet there are some on the the Internet who might see this as a challenge. Awaiting the first fake British High Court Twitter account in 3... 2... 1...
posted by Avelwood at 9:12 PM on October 1

I find it interesting that the infelicitous accounts on Twitter actually inspire legitimacy (the real counterparts to the imposters actually joining Twitter and making their presence known). I'd be super curious about whether or not this has become a new, unconscious social trend (on MySpace, Facebook, blogs, etc.), that, in the long run has benefited these sites and their users by drawing in well-known people and all of their fans.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:29 PM on October 1

I look forward to the Laura Ingals Wilder rising from the grave to pursue this crass imposter.


I dunno, I kinda like this one...

Today President Garfield visited all the schoolchildren in a mystical apparition & told them to stay in school. How dare he!
posted by lysdexic at 9:32 PM on October 1

@TheRealHighCourt make me`
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:01 PM on October 1 [2 favorites]

An anonymous person poses as a lawyer on twitter thus enabling the lawyer to make big headlines being the first person to successfully have The High Court take action on twitter. How convenient.
posted by Authorized User at 10:59 PM on October 1

Take that back. News filler about stupid twitter firsts are genuine heart-warming tales of human achievement and I won't stand to see you suggest they might be some sort of crass publicity stunt. How dare you.
posted by cillit bang at 2:51 AM on October 2

If only Shakespeare were alive....

Duke of Blarney: Sirrah! Do you dare to tweet me?
Anonio: I treat you to a tweet.
Duke of Blarney: I do not choose to twitter, as in my mind only the birds doth twitter.
Anonio: I titter at you. In truth, you are but a twat.
Duke of Blarney (drawing sword): How dare you titter. I call upon the law to stop up that twittering and thus sweetly untit you.
Anonio (wounded in the breast): With my dying breath, I shall repeat: Tweet. Tweet. (Dies.)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:25 AM on October 2 [5 favorites]

RT @highcourt surved a injucktion lol #howispentmyfriday
posted by katillathehun at 9:11 AM on October 2

An anonymous person poses as a lawyer on twitter thus enabling the lawyer to make big headlines being the first person to successfully have The High Court take action on twitter. How convenient meta. (or is has it become dada?)
posted by filthy light thief at 9:30 AM on October 2

Coming soon: Judge Dredd style justice via Twitter.

I am the LOL!
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:06 AM on October 3