THE CIRCUIT COURT will be able to order social media platforms and digital services providers to identify people who are anonymously posting defamatory material, under Ireland’s new defamation law. 

The changes are part of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill, which was approved by Cabinet and is due to come before the Dáil in the autumn. The full text of the bill is expected to be published on the Oireachtas website next week.

Speaking to reporters, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the law change will make it easier “to identify and to unmask unnamed trolls” who can defame people without being identified.

The rule change allows people to bring what is called a “Norwich Pharmacal Order” which compels a respondent to disclose information not just at the High Court level but also at the Circuit Court.

Where a person has secured a successful defamation case, through Coimisiún na Meán, they can seek such posts be removed from online providers.

Martin said this will make it “easier and less costly” for the public to tackle online defamation.

This action will significantly reduce the legal costs for a person subject to such comments, he added.

Martin referenced how he was forced to take legal action against Google over fake adverts involving himself stating it did strike him as “extraordinary challenging for individual citizens to seek the identity of such online defamers”.

The Tánaiste said it is “a very welcome measure” and he hopes it can be passed as soon as the Dáil returns in September. 

He asked that the opposition cooperate with government on its speedy passage, adding:

“I think there’s a collective public consensus around the necessity of this legislation.”

The Press Council Chairperson, Rory Montgomery said the reform of Irish defamation law is necessary to support print and online journalism, and other media, in their role as a vital component of our democracy.

“It is long overdue. We call upon the Government to take this legislation forward as a matter of urgency,” he said. 

He added that the Press Council will consider the Bill in detail and will continue to engage with the Department of Justice on it. He commented that “the Office of the Press Ombudsman and the Press Council will of course continue to offer those who believe they have been unfairly treated by the press a quick, fair and free alternative to the legal route”.