Forum poster sued for libel

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Forum poster sued for libel
Staff writers
MARCH 29, 2005

A LIBEL battle in London financial circles may have punctured the idea that posters to internet forums can remain anonymous.

Chief executive of finance group Collins Stewart Tullet Terry Smith won substantial damages from fund manager Jeremy Benjamin in the UK's high court after Mr Benjamin was found to have made false allegations against Mr Smith on the investment website the Motley Fool, Britain's The Guardian has reported.

Mr Benjamin posted the allegations under the moniker "analyser71", but was traced by lawyers representing Mr Smith, who used email and IP addresses to determine his identity.

A court order was used to force The Motley Fool to reveal details about "analyser 71", with the websites' owners having previously refused to provide the information, The Guardian report said.

Mr Benjamin's comments were seen by only 49 readers before they were taken down by the website, but the allegations made were extremely serious and may have been seen by influential people in financial circles, who may have passed them on to others, the court found.

The case is thought to be the first in which an anonymous internet poster has been successfully sued, The Guardian said.

Source http://australianit.news.com.au
http://australianit.news.com.au/arti...nbv%5E,00.html