Legal Bid Attempts To Identify Source Of Threats Posted On Facebook

The High Court has heard that there will be a legal attempt to identify who made threats against a man on two Facebook pages connected to the union flag protests.

The man’s lawyers hope to find out who posted comments on ‘Loyalists against Short Strand’ and ‘Loyalist Peaceful Protest Updater’.

Both pages were removed last week after the man successfully applied for an emergency injunction against the social networking site.

The judge said he had granted the man's application because of "an imminent risk of serious injury".

However, a lawyer for Facebook Ireland Ltd has since argued that suspending the pages concerned has taken the urgency out of the case.

Adding that Facebook took the view that primary responsibility rested with those who posted content and operated the pages.

It is the second time that the social media operator has come before the High Court in the last three months.

In November a convicted child sex offender won a landmark case forcing Facebook to take down a page monitoring paedophiles in Northern Ireland.

He is now seeking damages in an action due to be heard in March. This latest case will now be transferred to the judge handling those proceedings.

(H)