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13 May 2010 / Paul Harris
Issue: 7417 / Categories: Features , Media , Commercial
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Closing the net

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Paul Harris says it’s time to clamp down on internet defamation

Some years ago I advised on a defamation claim. My client was a young woman barrister who was subjected to persistent gross defamation on a popular internet chat room website specialising in gossip. Every time my client received a new brief of any importance there would be a new outbreak of remarks about her on the website, alleging that she was obtaining the briefs through improper relations with different senior members of her chambers. The allegations were obvious nonsense. However the mud stuck. My client’s practice dropped sharply and did not recover.

Proving that the allegations were defamatory was the easiest part of the case. The thick file of printouts of the chat room strings revealed a sick mind obsessed with pornographic fantasies. The strings were of course pseudonymous. Despite strong suspicions, it was impossible to prove the identity of the perpetrators. That left the operator of the website, a company, as the only possible defendant. A solicitor’s pre-action letter was sent to

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