Online bulletins forced to reveal anonymous commentators
Two Aim-listed oil firms have won court orders to uncover the identity of individuals they claim are posting defamatory postings anonymously on online bulletin boards.
Nighthawk Energy and Nostra Terra Oil and Gas are both considering further action against the individuals who posted comments on the websites Interactive Investor iii and ADVFN. One is believed to have been behind 500-600 postings and used a number of pseudonyms.
"This is not just a guy calling me a fat bastard, which they do, this is serious stuff that is undermining the company's operations," said Nighthawk's MD David Bramhill in an interview with The Guardian. "I have stock brokers asking me if there is any truth in them. They bring my wife into it as well and I am not going to put up with it anymore. A lot of chief executives are fed up with this. It is going to reach a head as a broader issue, there has to be some tighter regulation."
Nostra Terra, meanwhile, said that there had been "untrue malicious statements about the company's activities and personnel" repeatedly made by certain posters.
Although the operators of the bulletin boards have protection under confidentiality and data protection laws from having to disclose names and other personal information about posters, in certain cases, like this one, the courts can make orders.
Both Nighthawk and Nostra Terra have now been provided with the individuals' identities and are considering whether to launch civil proceedings for defamation.