Council spent £200,000 trying to unmask anonymous blogger

A council has dropped a five-year, £200,000 legal campaign trying to unmask an anonymous blogger called Mr Monkey, who made allegations of impropriety against four senior members of the authority. A Freedom of Information request has forced South Tyneside council to admit how much they spent trying (and failing) to discover the identity of Mr Monkey, who made allegations of impropriety against four senior members of the authority. They’ve dropped the curious case after the Guardian started asking questions

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Council suspected the blog was authored by Ahmed Khan, but Khan has always vehemently denied being Mr Monkey and unsuccessfully filed an ‘anti-SLAPP’ (Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation) motion in 2011, which would have prevented the council from obtaining more of his details. But this claim was dismissed by a judge as “frivolous”, as the nature of the John Doe suit meant he was never named as a defendant.

 

There are procedures by which an anonymous blogger can oppose a subpoena that would expose his identity, but you can’t simply bring an anti-SLAPP motion claiming you’re not the defendants.

Leave a Reply

Aaron Morris, Attorney
Aaron Morris
Morris & Stone, LLP

Orchard Technology Park
11 Orchard Road, Suite 106
Lake Forest, CA 92630

(714) 954-0700

Email Aaron Morris
Information Helpful?
Buy me coffee
Latest Podcast
California SLAPP Law Podcast
SLAPP Law Podcast

Click "Amazon Music" for all episodes of California SLAPP Law Podcast

SiteLock
DISCLAIMERS

NOTICE PURSUANT TO BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS CODE SECTION 6158.3: The outcome of any case will depend on the facts specific to that case. Nothing contained in any portion of this web site should be taken as a representation of how your particular case would be concluded, or even that a case with similar facts will have a similar result. The result of any case discussed herein was dependent on the facts of that case, and the results will differ if based on different facts.

This site seeks to present legal issues in a hopefully entertaining manner. Hyperbolic language should not be taken literally. For example, if I refer to myself as the “Sultan of SLAPP” or the “Pharaoh of Free Speech,” it should not be assumed that I am actually a Sultan or a Pharaoh.

Factual summaries are entirely accurate in the sense of establishing the legal scenario, but are changed as necessary to protect the privacy of the clients.