Anonymous Internet defamation: what to do

The challenge of addressing online defamation is exacerbated when the perpetrator hides behind the veil of anonymity. However, with the evolving digital landscape, there are systematic measures and legal tools that can help unveil the identity of such defamers and protect the reputation of the aggrieved party. Here's an overview of what to do when confronted with anonymous internet defamation.

Table of content

How to utilise public resources for identification of online defamers

Digital footprint analysis to expose defamers

How to obtain disclosure orders and subpoenas to expose defamers 

When and how to get defamation injunctions

How to utilise public resources for identification of online defamers

Our initial strategy involves scouring publicly accessible resources to pinpoint potential identifiers of the defamer. This might include looking into digital footprints, metadata, or even patterns in the content that might hint at the identity. When confronted with the challenge of anonymous online defamation, having an experienced team at your side can make all the difference. Over the years, we have fine-tuned our strategies and leveraged cutting-edge technologies to identify anonymous defamers and protect the reputations of our clients. Here's a deeper look into our expertise and the nuanced approach we employ in this specialized field. Years of handling numerous cases have honed our ability to expertly navigate a myriad of publicly available resources. These databases, forums, and platforms often contain a wealth of information that, when analysed correctly, can lead directly or indirectly to the defamer.

Digital footprint analysis to expose defamers

Everyone leaves a trace online, and our team is adept at reading and interpreting these digital breadcrumbs. Whether it's a specific style of writing, the timing of posts, or the kind of platforms used, we can identify patterns that help pinpoint an individual or, at the very least, narrow down the pool of potential suspects. Often overlooked, metadata — the data about data — can be a goldmine of information. Every digital interaction, be it a photo upload, a comment, or a blog post, comes embedded with metadata. This can include timestamps, device information, location details, and more. Our team has the tools and know-how to extract and interpret this data, often revealing crucial clues about the defamer's identity.

Content Pattern Recognition

Beyond the digital data, the content itself can offer significant insights. Our team includes experts trained in content analysis. They can detect nuances, writing styles, recurring themes, or specific terminologies used by the defamer, which can hint at their background, motivations, or identity. What sets us apart is our collaborative approach. We combine the expertise of IT professionals, content analysts, and legal experts to provide a comprehensive solution. This synergy ensures that while our tech team delves into the digital aspects, our legal team is ready to act on the information obtained.

Collaborative suspect identification

While we harness technological methods, understanding the context and any potential motivations is crucial. We'll engage in a collaborative discussion with you to identify any potential suspects based on the nature and content of the defamation. In the maze of digital anonymity, successfully unmasking online defamers often requires more than just technological expertise. One of the most potent tools at our disposal is collaboration.

By joining forces with those affected by defamation, we amplify our chances of uncovering the identity of the perpetrator. Let's delve deeper into our collaborative suspect identification process. Though we employ state-of-the-art technological methods, they serve as just one part of our comprehensive approach.

Real insights often come from blending machine-driven data with human perspectives. By understanding the personal or business context surrounding the defamation, we can refine our search parameters and make our identification processes more precise. At the heart of our collaborative approach are personalised consultation sessions with our clients. These dialogues provide:

• • Background Information: Understanding any past conflicts, competitors, or disgruntled individuals can offer context.
• • Specific Incidents: Pinpointing any recent events or changes that might have triggered the defamation helps narrow down the timeline and, potentially, the pool of suspects.
• • Tone & Style: Is the tone personal, hinting at someone with a personal grudge? Or does it sound more professional, suggesting a competitor or someone from within the industry?
• • Inside Information: Does the content have details that only certain individuals would know? This can be instrumental in zeroing in on a narrow group of suspects.

Understanding the 'why' can often lead us to the 'who'. By discussing potential motivations behind the defamation with our clients, we can develop theories about the defamer's objectives, be it financial gain, personal vendetta, business rivalry, or mere mischief.

Beyond formal consultation sessions, we believe in the power of collaborative brainstorming. By bringing together our team of experts and the insights provided by the client, we foster an environment of creative problem-solving. Such sessions often lead to unexpected breakthroughs in suspect identification.

How to obtain disclosure orders and subpoenas

If preliminary efforts don't yield a definitive identification, we resort to more forceful legal tools:

• Disclosure Orders: These compel online platforms, be it website operators, email providers, or social media platforms, to disclose any relevant information they have about the defamer's identity.
• Subpoenas: A legal demand for information or testimony against a party, it obligates service providers to share information about anonymous users. Sometimes, even with our best efforts, the identity of the person spreading harmful information about you online remains hidden. When that happens, we rely on stronger legal methods, like Disclosure Orders and Subpoenas, to help reveal the person responsible.

A Disclosure Order is like an official request from the court, which we can give to companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, or even your email provider. This request tells them they need to share any information they have that could help us figure out who is defaming you online. This can include things like usernames, IP addresses (a unique address that identifies a device on the internet), or when and where they logged in.

A subpoena is another kind of request from the court, but usually from a court in the US or Canada. When we give a subpoena to a company or a person, they must provide the information we ask for, or they could get into trouble with the court. This can help us get information about the anonymous person causing you trouble. In simple terms, Disclosure Orders and Subpoenas are powerful tools we can use when we need more help finding the anonymous person defaming you online. Think of them like keys that can unlock doors and give us access to the information we need to protect your reputation.

When and how to get defamation injunctions

When faced with particularly elusive defamers who skilfully hide their tracks online, we are not deterred. Our commitment to safeguarding your reputation remains unwavering, and in such challenging circumstances, we seek the assistance of the judiciary, which can be a game-changer. Let's explore the steps we take when moving things into the legal arena. An injunction is a legal tool that prohibits or commands certain actions. When we ask the court for an injunction against an anonymous online user:

• It serves as a direct message to the defamer, urging them to halt their damaging actions.
• Beyond the individual, it acts as a strong deterrent to others who might consider engaging in such malicious behaviour, sending a clear signal that consequences await those who spread false information online.

Merely obtaining an injunction isn't enough; its effectiveness lies in how and where it's enforced:

• Targeting the source: The platform where the defamatory content is hosted, whether it's a blog, forum, or social media site, will be directly served with the injunction. This obligates them to take prompt action, usually resulting in the removal or deactivation of the harmful content. 
• Engaging search engines: We go a step further by serving the injunction to major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. This ensures that even if, for some reason, the content remains online, it doesn't show up when someone searches for your name or business. Essentially, it becomes like a tree falling in an empty forest; if no one sees it, it minimises the damage.

While we always hope to resolve defamation issues without resorting to the courts, our priority is to protect your reputation by any means necessary. In those rare instances where traditional methods don't yield results, legal injunctions become our shield and sword, helping us ensure that harmful content is quelled and your reputation remains untarnished.

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How to obtain disclosure from a website operator if you live outside the United States

Numerous strategies exist for obtaining disclosure from a website, online platform, or company based in the United States. It is difficult to find an attorney who is highly experienced in securing disclosure orders from the US at speed and in a cost-effective way.

All you need to know about Norwich Pharmacal Orders

Norwich Pharmacal Orders are a legal mechanism used in the UK for obtaining information from a third party involved in wrongdoings or unlawful activities. This legal remedy, named after the landmark case of Norwich Pharmacal v Customs and Excise Commissioners, is widely used in various litigation cases, ranging from intellectual property disputes to cybercrime investigations. However, despite its frequent usage, the Norwich Pharmacal Order remains shrouded in mystery and confusion amongst many legal practitioners and individuals.

28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) applications are no longer just for the rich

The process of gathering evidence in internet law international litigation can be a complex and costly task. One way to reduce the burden of cost is through the use of 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a), which allows parties in a foreign proceeding to obtain discovery in the United States.

However, the costs associated with this process can often exceed the benefits, rendering it impractical for many parties. We are very proud of our team who managed to turn applications under 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) from super-expensive into the far more affordable procedure it is now for our UK clients and for our clients from all over the world, despite the inherent complexities and costs associated with the process.

How to find out the identity of online criminals

Financial crimes online have become more prevalent and sophisticated with the rise of digital technology. Countless people have suffered losses at the hands of cybercriminals who operate anonymously, making it challenging to track them down.

Norwich Pharmacal orders have been an instrumental tool in the legal system to assist people who have been victims of online financial crimes. This order compels third parties that have information to reveal the identity of cybercriminals who engage in illegal activities online. The challenge, however, for the victims of the crimes, is obtaining a Norwich Pharmacal order fast and cost effectively.

28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) made easy

Given the global nature of the internet, there is a constant need for various court orders to be domesticated in foreign jurisdictions. Many social media companies, domain name registrars, servers and gaming platforms are located in the US. This makes obtaining disclosure by a non-US individual from those platforms a challenging task even for experienced lawyers.

Legal representation in the US and other foreign jurisdictions

If you're facing international internet law issues, such as cross border online harassment, trolling, loss of social media accounts, copyright infringement or if you need to get legal advice in USA for any internet law related matter, rest assured that understanding your unique situation is our top priority. We're here to offer tailored support and expert advice, ensuring you receive effective and empathetic legal representation in any foreign jurisdiction.

A full guide to Google disclosure requests

How to take legal action for defamation against an anonymous user

How to remove online reviews from review websites outside the UK

A right to be forgotten for lawyers, doctors and other professionals

The concept of the right to be forgotten allows individuals to request the removal of their personal information from online platforms under certain circumstances. This includes data which refers to criminal convictions. However, a lingering question remains: can a professional person, such as a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant, have a conviction removed under the right to be forgotten? This question raises complex ethical and legal considerations, as well as the potential impact on an individual's professional reputation and livelihood.

Legal advice with guarantee

Website disclosure orders

You can obtain disclosure from nearly any website operator and/or domain name registrar. Our firm specialises in obtaining disclosure orders from website operators and from domain registrars who operate from different jurisdictions. In nearly all cases, we have been successful in securing disclosure orders for our clients regardless of the location of the website, blog or social media platform.

Table of content

Obtain disclosure from website operators

Obtain disclosure from a UK website operator

Obtain disclosure from US website operators

Obtain disclosure of domain name owners

Obtain disclosure of online harassers

Obtain disclosure from website operators

Over the past 25 years, we have developed special working relationships with internet law attorneys from many parts of the world. Often, together with our international network of local attorneys, we obtain disclosure orders from website operators, through local courts at lower costs and higher speed.

When our clients require disclosure orders from various website operators in the United States, which are located in different states, we are often able to file a claim and a disclosure subpoena in a single court and then have the subpoena domesticated throughout the United States.

This process often results in high speed and lower costs in obtaining various disclosure orders from different websites where the disclosures are required as part of a single claim.

Obtain disclosure from UK website operator

We always plan and coordinate the different needs to obtain various disclosure orders from UK website operators, in a way that is aimed to produce an optimum outcome for our clients.

Because of our long-term experience in obtaining disclosure orders from website operators in the UK, we can tell, in many cases, what information each website operator has in their possession and how to approach the website operators so that they will co-operate with our disclosure application.

In nearly all cases, we do that groundwork before we get to court, which helps reduce the costs to our clients and to have a smooth third-party disclosure hearing at court.

Obtain disclosure from US website operators

Disclosure orders from website operators in the US should be handled with care and in a way that will not end up being counterproductive to the applicant. There are website operators in the US who are keen to protect their anonymous users’ identities and who will therefore contest most disclosure applications on the grounds of free speech.

Navigating through the various legal processes in the different states in the US could be a challenging task to the unfamiliar foreign litigant. We have a trusted record when it comes to obtaining disclosure from US website operators, which makes Cohen Davis a preferred internet law specialist UK law firm for UK based individuals and companies who wish to obtain disclosure orders through the American courts.

Obtain disclosure of domain name owners

It is possible for individuals to register domain names under a pseudonym and with very few verifiable details, a fact which often makes it nearly impossible to track down someone who registered a domain name for the purpose of defaming or harassing an individual or a company.

Exposing the registered owner of a particular domain name is often a challenge that even a local court is unable to overcome. Depending on the registrar’s location, we can challenge the validity of a domain name registration in various ways, including through local courts, through internet service providers, and through Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Obtain disclosure of online harassers

Online harassers often prefer to hide behind a pseudonym but even in cases that lasted for over 13 years of online harassment, we have been able to identify and locate the individuals harassing our clients.

We facilitate the disclosure of online harassers by carrying out covert and open investigator work and by pursuing various legal avenues, which may include obtaining disclosure orders through courts in the UK and around the world and then tracking down the whereabouts of the online harasser, to bring him or her to justice.