Under the Data Protection Act 1998, personal data is normally protected against disclosure. However, it is not protected from disclosure where the disclosure is required by the order of a court.
Civil liberties groups said the ruling was against the right of free speech. Malcolm Hutty, of the civil liberties group Campaign Against Censorship of the Internet is reported by ZD Net UK as saying: “If people are publishing in the belief of anonymity, then to break that is extremely worrying... The answer really is that authors ought to be aware that their details may be yielded under certain circumstances.”
Scoot.com is understood to be taking no further action against International Interactive Investor and has made no comment on whether the individuals responsible for the postings will be taken to court.
In the US last month, a Florida judge ordered Yahoo! and AOL to reveal the identity of two individuals posting allegedly defamatory messages on messages boards. Conversely, Yahoo! was sued last month for revealing the identities to third parties of individuals making defamatory postings without prior notice to the individuals.