Another Twitter user has openly defied the courts by publishing the details of 13 alleged super-injunctions.
By Martin Evans 6:34PM BST 30 May 2011
Just hours after the US based company caved into a legal challenge and agreed to release the personal details of an anonymous British blogger, a user taunted the authorities by posting the most detailed list of gagging orders yet.
The list, which appeared on Twitter, contained links to court documents as well as full names and even addresses of some people granted injunctions.
But not all of the information appeared to be accurate prompting further fears that innocent people were being unfairly tainted because of the rash of secrecy orders being granted.
As hundreds of followers began viewing the site the information was suddenly removed, but not before the names had begun to circulate widely on other websites.
At the weekend Twitter, which is based in California, agreed to hand over the details of a account holders in a bid to unmask a person who had been posting allegedly libellous comments about officials at South Tyneside Council.
The landmark case has potentially far reaching implications for Twitter users who have used the site anonymously to breach injunctions.
Earlier this month lawyers acting for the Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs issued a writ demanding Twitter release the details of a user who named their client as having taken out an injunction to hide an alleged extramarital affair with Imogen Thomas, a former reality television star.
Anyone knowingly breaching a court injunction by naming an individual could be found in contempt of court and fined or even jailed.
But with thousands of internet users ignoring the warnings, injunctions are becoming increasingly difficult to enforce.
Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming has also said he will use parliamentary privilege to name any celebrities with injunctions who threaten to prosecute those who reveal their identities.
He said celebrities should not be allowed to “erode British culture” by threatening to have people jailed for simply “gossiping about them”.
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