A South Tyneside blogger who shared his knowledge of a local council via Twitter has had personal details handed over to the authority he reported on.
The South Tyneside Council, in the North East of England, has spent up to 75,000 on the case to force Twitter the San Francisco-based microblogging site to hand over personal details of the blogger, known only as Mr Monkey, renowned for acting as a whistleblower on the organisation.
The Council claimed the stories Mr Monkey published were libelous. However, as the writer was anonymous, it was unable to take any action against him or her.
Three councillors and an executive from South Tyneside took up the case in a Californian court under instruction from the Council's previous chief executive (CEO).
They were successful and won the blogger's contact details, location and IP addresses, making links of four accounts associated with Mr Monkey and his potentially libellous commentary.
"The Council has a duty of care to its employees and as this blog contains damaging claims about council officers, legal action is being taken to identify those responsible," read a statement from the Council.
The identity of Mr Monkey has yet to be revealed, but rumours are suggesting Councillor Ahmed Khan, an independent and outspoken critic of the Council, could be leading the way.
He strenuously denied the accusation, telling the BBC: "I'm the kind of person who will tell you face-to-face what I think. I have no need to use an anonymous blog."
He has, however, been passing a lot of comment about the case on his own Twitter feed, such as:
"This insignificant local blog with a small cult following is now worldwide news. Well done guys a job well done. I think not!"
"Thx to their considerable efforts at the public's expense, it seems everyone wants to know more about the blog they would like to silence!"
No exact figure has been put on how much South Tyneside is spending on legal fees but a spokesperson confirmed to IT PRO it would be less than 75,000.
-
Should AI PCs be part of your next hardware refresh?AI PCs are fast becoming a business staple and a surefire way to future-proof your business
-
Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI launch brace of new channel initiativesNews Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI have announced the launch of two new channel growth initiatives focused on the managed security service provider (MSSP) space and AWS Marketplace.
-
Who owns the data used to train AI?Analysis Elon Musk says he owns it – but Twitter’s terms and conditions suggest otherwise
-
Elon Musk confirms Twitter CEO resignation, allegations of investor influence raisedNews Questions have surfaced over whether Musk hid the true reason why he was being ousted as Twitter CEO behind a poll in which the majority of users voted for his resignation
-
Businesses to receive unique Twitter verification badge in platform overhaulNews There will be new verification systems for businesses, governments, and individuals - each receiving differently coloured checkmarks
-
Ex-Twitter tech lead says platform's infrastructure can sustain engineering layoffsNews Barring major changes the platform contains the automated systems to keep it afloat, but cuts could weaken failsafes further
-
‘Hardcore’ Musk decimates Twitter staff benefits, mandates weekly code reviewsNews The new plans from the CEO have been revealed through a series of leaked internal memos
-
Twitter could charge $20 a month for 'blue tick' verification, following Musk takeoverNews Developers have allegedly been given just seven days to implement the changes or face being fired
-
Twitter reports largest ever period for data requests in new transparency reportNews The company pointed to the success of its moderation systems despite increasing reports, as governments increasingly targeted verified journalists and news sources
-
IT Pro News In Review: Cyber attack at Ikea, Meta ordered to sell Giphy, new Twitter CEOVideo Catch up on the biggest headlines of the week in just two minutes
