A judge has ordered an internet blogger to pay £10,000 in compensation after she accused a Parliamentary candidate of being a 'racist bigot' and 'sex offender' in a landmark case.
Tracy Williams, from Oldham, Lancashire (North-West England), used an alias identity on her blog and also a chatroom. The decision was made earlier after the comments were made around April 2004 about a former Conservative Party member who last year fought a UK Independence Party seat. Michael Keith-Smith said Williams proverbially attacked him in an internet chatroom over a debate in which the rights and wrongs of the war on terror in Iraq were discussed.
It was a claim that Judge Alistair McDuff agreed with and ordered Williams to pay Keith-Smith £10,000 in damages over the 'unfounded' defamatory remarks which also included accusations of sexual harassment.
It's a ruling that will be of interest to the thousands of bloggers in the UK at least who should be extra cautious of what they write and who they write about, since it is understood that Ms Williams' details were divulged to police after a subpoena to the ISP hosting the blog. |
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