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defamation of character, defamation online, harassment on the internet, internet defamation, internetl law expert, libel law, online attack, online harassment, online intimidation, online libel, online reputation, yair cohen
Very often victims of online harassment, online intimidation and online defamation feel hopeless and powerless to act: simply scared and paralysed with a growing number victims seriously considering suicide as they feel they have no one to turn to for help.
Victims of online harassment, online intimidation and online defamation feel hopeless and powerless to act with a growing number victims seriously considering suicide as they feel they have no one to turn to for help.
The police in the UK are indeed not equipped to deal with online harassment and online intimidation. Very few senior police officers have any understanding of the psychic of the internet, the nature of a Google Bomb, the technologies or the techniques which online attackers and bullies use to intimidate their victims.
But even if the police accepted your case of online harassment and agreed to investigate it, the police would have warned you that if any action was to be taken against your online attacker, this would take a very long time to investigate and once investigated, a case would have to be made to a local civil servant who works for the Crown Prosecution Service who would eventually have to decide whether or not there is sufficient evidence to prosecute.
If and when, many months later, your case would have come to court, you should expect many more months of delay until it is completed, and not necessarily in your favour. You see, the criminal justice system requires a very high level of proof before anyone could be convicted which means the court might not necessarily decide in your favour.
In a recent case, which is believed to be the first in the UK where a person was jailed following a long term campaign of online harassment, it took the criminal justice system no less than 18 months to place the attacker, who was internet savvy behind bars and even then the court was unable to force him to remove the intimidating blogs and websiteswhich he created against his victim over a period of 18 months. These remain intact, which means that following the publicity which the case received in the national media, the defamatory comments and remarks gather almost unprecedented force and ‘search engine power’ which in turn means, that following the jail sentence which was received by the attacker, his defamatory blogs and websites received an unprecedented number of visits, causing the victim even more damage than before.
This begs the question of whether the criminal justice system is the best forum to have cases of online intimidation and online harassment resolved. Who wants to go through 18 months of hell just to see their attacker being jailed for a couple of months and without having the defamatory blogs removed at the end of the process, but instead, seeing the blogs gathering momentum because of the publicity which surrounded the court case?
Great article. Had my own experience of this which is not resolved and has been put in front of police in the UK (can do no more unless he comes back to the UK – CPS charge still outstanding) and Israel (archaic system, no ability to email the officer dealing with the case and no response at all from them). The criminal involved has now relocated to the US and it costs far too much to litigate, has already cost me thousands and yet there was no resolution. I believe there needs to be an international standard for this kind of crime and we are a long way off.
Monique,
The laws of defamation are fundamentally different in many countries. The trick (if there is any) to resolve online defamation cases on an international basis is to find a common denominator which can be used to enforced court orders from one country, in another. Examples of such common denominators that we have used in the past are – injunctions, private prosecution, arrest warrants and more. The secret to successfully deal with online defamation and online harassment is perhaps to be as resourceful and as creative as possible.
Yair
Defamation lawyers
Yair, it is a timely article, and clearly a case of the law not keeping up with the exploitation of the technology.
That being so it would be very useful if there could be a number of practical steps people being victimised might take. It isn’t just individuals, and they are important, it is also businesses who have unfair negative comments posted on third party mediums etc. I have a client I’m seeing this month who has had a milder case of this.
Look forward to any further advice.
Chris,
This is starting to become such a big problem that it is almost the only area of law that we now practice. We now get 2-3 new online defamation or harassment cases each day. Businesses suffer in particular – mainly from competitors and ex-employees but also by blogs and posts which are delivered by disgruntled customers.
Unfortunately, there is no set formula to deal with those sorts of things. Each online harassment or online defamation case has got to be dealt with delicately and individually – you make one wrong or harsh move and the situation gets worst almost overnight. Remember, very often we deal with irrational people so we have to assess each case very carefully before subscribing any medicine.
The work that you do, Chris is tremendously important and most cases are resolved by a combination of SEO and legal tools.
I will be happy to help at any time and to offer specific advice to solve your clients’ issues.
Yair
Defamation lawyers
Hi Yair,
Replying and adding to this whole trail, and I hope sensitively, here’s four possible additional ways (you are doing some of this) that may bring some peace of mind to people in this mess while they fight the stalker.
The first is that there are a number of US books starting to appear which discuss this subject, and the legal (US admittedly), web tactics (universal), and equally important, more universal emotional defences you can employ to assist maintain balance.
The second is that it may be helpful to couple up with, and I use this suggestion carefully, counsellors and psychiatrists, who can work with the victim to understand how they may feel and how to take command of it. Taking command is the important emotional part, it isn’t meant to say the person being stalked is mentally out of sorts. CBT therapy is a possible way to deal with this, it is already used with people who are dealing with unintentionally difficult Aspergers people. I could suggest a couple of possible people here.
The third and equally radical thing might be to consider that the useful help you give on the website seems to feel somehow beyond reach of the victims judging by the unfortunate trail here. The work is complex and time-draining. So here is a new idea. You may be aware that a number of good minded souls have freely dedicated their time to wear down 419 phishing scammers, and they are landing some results. Well, what about encouraging and advertising for the formation of a voluntary anti cyberstalker group that will online lawfully fight down the postings of the stalkers that survive the takedown requests and injunctions – or even before them. The basis of course is praising the victims online is not unlawful and will bury the bad stuff. People willing to do this may possibly come from retired academics, part timers, Samaritan types, former fellow victims giving back etc.
Fourth, write a book about what you are doing, seek TV & Radio coverage, use it to lobby MPs, and speak about it. Most politicians see this as a problem just too difficult and without enough visibility to deal with. This sort of coverage, with the book, will help politicians see how they can find a way to deal with this crime.
And 5th, if you do put a volunteer anti cyberstalker group together, I’ll volunteer half a day a month training to help them.
I am currently in communication with the Home Office about this situation. You are welcome to email me.
I have cold hard proof that the justice system does not work for victims. I have been bullied off a social network three times and in fact, no longer see the point of posting anywhere on the internet because my stalker will find it and disrupt it. No police force will protect me or support me. I am now watching my abuser build up a ‘case’ against me which is completely fictitious using photoshop to manufacture emails. He takes these into court as admissible evidence. He also uses proxy servers to conduct a conversation with himself, screenshots it and this too, is admissible court evidence. He drags his victims into court and gets legal aid; his victims pay thousands for private legal advice. He has Malicious Communications and a non-harassment order against him. He has just been found guilty of Harassment by the police and the CPS – and the moment he got back home from the courts started posting more abuse.
He stalks people to find out where they have posted, who they work for, where they live. He contacts businesses of his victims, mortgage lenders. He shuts down discussion forums and websites. He has been doing this for years and years. He is also an undiagnosed schizophrenic who knows he is but won’t get treatment.
THESE are the sort of people running around on the internet making other people’s lives a total misery.
Every sympathy for you for this! Have had some very similar behaviour from my stalker. My outrage at the lies has become less over time as nothing surprises me any more! I agree with your points – there is very little that the police seem to be able to do and also the use of manipulation of evidence and falsifying documents is something which us mere innocent internet users would not dream of. A criminal mind will use whatever tools they can. Technology is just another. If the behaviour was not so damaging to individuals and their livelihoods and reputations, then the conversations with themselves would be laughable. Creating a plethora of fake profiles and backing themselves up seems to be a classic MO for these narcissistic personalities. The sentences when these criminals are caught need to be much tougher. As you have stated, a warning or even a prosecution does not prevent a fresh lot of abuse from a different IP address or identity.
Wish you luck! My case is not resolved…yet!
Just the fact alone that I have to post as ‘anonymous’ gives an indication of the loss of my own identity on the internet. If i put my name on here, I will immediately be abused and this site will be ruined.
I can totally sympathise with you. Unfortunately we see this too often that people are being intimidated to such an extent that they are afraid to tell the world who they are. Online attacks could be particularly damaging to the recipient’s self-esteem and confidence.
I wish you luck too. ‘Luck’ is just about the only ‘support’ one can expect. If you are ‘lucky’ someone in a position of authority might help you – but for most of us, we deal with it alone, unprotected and unsupported. Its an absolute disgrace.
I invite the Leading Internet Law Expert to contact me regarding this life threatening issue? I have lost nearly eberything I possessed due to 2 Cyber Stalkers, my income, my home, my partner and 2 year old daughter, and my true identity. Even though my main stalker has now been charged with Harassment, it still leaves his partner to continue their campaing of Cyber Stalking / Harassment against me. All I have left to lose now is my life, is that what they want?
I am keen to create awareness about this painful subject. This new phenomenon of online harassment, online stalking and online bullying seems to have caught the authorities and us as society completely off guard. There is very little awareness among the pubic , the police and the legal establishment about this new menace which destroys so many people’s lives.
http://www.bainscohen.com/internetlawadvice
Well i’m very glad that someone is! You are welcome to email me should you wish. The police tell you ‘don’t respond’ – and then toddle back to their stations leaving you to deal with it all. My stalker and abuser has been doing this for years and years and treats the courtroom like a playground 😦
I got yet another email today from my local police force saying they would get back to me. I have emailed them this article because I believe that my case will not be the only one they will have to deal with in the future. I tried to set up a voluntary moderator’s site on Face book https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/home.php?sk=group_213724385309053&ap=1 but by then I was so disgusted with the site that I gave up and handed the group to someone else and came off Face book altogether. It seems to be a breeding ground for bullies and nutters and too much damage happens before they decide to actually do anything about it. It would now seem that he has disappeared from Face book and YouTube but i can’t tell if its because he has been forcibly deleted or if he has elected to go quiet, so still no assurance that the abuse of me won’t just start up all over again at some point in the future. All he has to do is reactive his accounts and its all back on the internet in the blink of an eye 😦
The police will not or cannot do anything. The court found my harasser guilty, put restraining order in place but did not ask for the defamatory comments including threats to kill to be removed. Neither site owner nor ISP will remove as they quote “freedom of speech at me. Keep logging new things with the police, but they are now warning me that I may be charged with on line stalking. Try to protect my name so that I can continue working., but of course it matters to no one. Small fish with no money – why should any one care what happens to me and mine?
I have just ‘stumbled’ upon this website.
I have encountered an ex partner, whom has taken it upon themselves to act maliciously in many areas of social conduct, to the detriment of myself.
This has manifested itself in the following :
malicious comments & personal disclosure, emailed to anyone with influence working within my industry, use of social media, including but not limited to : the bird media – incl threats / FB – business networks – including contacting anyone and befriending as many of my connections as possible, and thus distributing material.
She has even posted on social media – (it remains searchable on google) the instance where she watched me shopping on a saturday morning from a car.
The person concerned, has been conducting herself in this manner for almost 4 years – i no longer use my name in any internet account.
Reports to the local police were generally, treated with indifference, reported more than 30 times over a period of time, including her threatened suicide, 40+ texts a day, emails, voicemails, resulted in 4 mobile number changes, removal of all address details in public, I have lost employment as a result of the conduct, and I dare not become ‘public’ with any business, for fear of her conduct.
Citizens Advice – useless, local lawyers – pointless unless wealthy, police – unless any act resulted in violence, indifferent. I pointed out once, that if the conduct was yndertaken by a man against a woman, then the response would be different. That made no difference, although they wrote a letter to her!
She carries on, i keep a record, and await the next act that causes damage. It is no way to live a life.
I have elderly relatives who do not need this level of pressure imposed upon them, no one answers the front door (if intercom is buzzed) – relatives visitng call first or send a text – no one answers private numbers (withheld) and we try not to walk in the same route to often if out socially.
I no longer visit the town she resides within – a very popular place, and no one knows why.
Complaints to search engines/social media, regarding the degree of harassment, was simply met with the disclaimer expected.
In short, I live life awaiting the next incident or instance of harassment. I no longer report anything to the police because it is simply pointless.
The law is a very curious field in this area – it protects, or permits coroporations to avoid any degree of responsibility, whilst destroying an individual, be that a man or a woman.
The person concerned?
she holds a government position within the security industry.
No need to reply, I am just venting because this is the closest place that I have found remotely related to what I have been experiencing.
There is nothing to be done in my situation, and I sound like a whiner compared to these more serious and business related issues, but I just wanted to comment (I feel like I’m back in junior high), that silly as it sounds, like that one article says, the stress, shame and anxiety that a cyber-bully can cause even on a personal level can really be severe. My bully has been using facebook to wage a “smear campaign”. He is very clever, because the only thing I could report would be if he was posting things on my site, in which case they would just say “block him”. But that is not the problem. He is saying awful things about on other people’s sites who were on my “friends” list, so awful that they “block” me, all of a sudden this started happening, with people who would have no reason to do such a thing, and who know me, but obviously not closely, and also know him; and he is a much better con artist. Of course he has blocked me (to further reinforce his claims that I am a psycho cyber stalker and criminal). This was an abusive ex boyfriend who I believes I am going to tell people the “truth” about him, which I do not do, and I do not discuss my personal life on facebook.
This sounds stupid, but because I have no idea what he is saying, and the people I know that he has manipulated I can’t contact. Of course he knows every time this happens it will upset and humiliate me. Abuse by proxy is what the domestic violence people call it. Getting other people to do his “dirty” work, continuing to psychologically torment me, so I know he is still “out there” and he will destroy me. So I live in fear of the unknown, and there is nothing I can do. Yes, he could call people on the telephone or write them letters about me, but I would never know, and HIS AGENDA IS FOR ME TO KNOW, and to undergo the public humiliation of the ‘facebook block”, and each successful ally he gains, is more “ammunition” for him. “so and so needed to block her”. I wasn’t a big facebook user and I never go on now because I have such an aversion. I think the issue behind this is that abusive people can use social networking to continue to control and leave their victim in a perpetual state of anxiety, without any way to prove it? Could you imagine if I went to a lawyer or anyone with this story? They would think I was crazy and imagining it. I would be better off if he was stalking me directly, then I could do something. Sorry to take up space. Needed to vent somewhere and I have no one on facebook to talk to!
Hi,
Thank you so much for your email.
I know this might not sound like great deal of help. Certain things seem to be more easily said than done and this is because they are in fact difficult to comprehend let alone practice. But still, I repeat below advice which was given to me during a particularly difficult period of time in my life, advice which I myself sometimes find challenging to follow, a fact which makes no different it’s logical value.
The advice is good in business as well as in our personal lives (often they are one of the same) and not following it can have more painful consequences to us than the pain it takes to follow.
Fairly recently I had to go back and read this advice numerous times to no avail and eventually I decided to print it out and place it just above my computer desk to have a constant reminder of the importance of following it. And soon after that, your email came and the first thing that came to my mind was that piece of advice.
“Most people (myself included) tend to accumulate grudges and resentments during our lifetimes. Ironically, this becomes a much bigger burden for us than for those we hold grudges against. In fact, they may be completely untroubled while we are handicapped. In many of these cases, the people who “wronged” us did so out of temporary or even in-grained weakness, and while the results of unintended harm ARE just as bad as those of intended harm, with perspective and compassion (and recognition of our own weaknesses), we can see that freeing the other person from the obligation we believe they owe us is a kindness to ourselves as well as to them. Dr. Maltz approached the issue of “forgiveness” not from a moralistic stance but as a practical matter, as another tool useful in enhancing performance, success and happiness.”Dan Kennedy.
I might not be able to completely solve your issue. Actually the issue is not really yours. You sound absolutely find and normal to me. The person with the issue is your boyfriend. The moment you realise this you will be reliving yourself from a very heavy burden which really should be carried by him.
I will send you a separate email and we will hopefully we can arrange for a telephone chat later in the week.
Best wishes
Yair