Date: 2010-06-04 Docket: Hfx. No. 329542. Arthur J. LeBlanc J. | Link

Part of this decision deals with the disclosure by the Respondent of the identity and owner of an IP address, in a case alleging creation by an unidentified perpetrator of a fake Facebook profile, which included a photograph of the applicant and other particulars which identified her.  The Facebook profile also discussed the applicant's physical appearance, weight, and allegedly included scandalous sexual commentary of a private and intimate nature. The applicant's counsel had requested and received from Facebook the IP address used when the profile was created, and has learned from the Respondent that the address is allocated to it. The Court noted that "anonymity is not an automatic shield for defamatory words", there was a prima facie case of defamation, and that there was "no public interest beyond the general right of freedom of expression ... offered in support of maintaining the author's anonymity", and ordered the disclosure. (para 22)