2013 February 6

Manson v. John Doe, 2013 ONSC 628

aggravated damages and $50,000 punitive damages against a “John Doe” defendant who had “waged an anonymous electronic campaign of libel.” The “John Doe” defendant had failed to comply with an earlier Court Order requiring him or her to identify themselves. The Court noted:

“There are few things more cowardly and insidious than an anonymous blogger who posts spiteful and defamatory comments about a reputable member of the public and then hides behind the electronic curtain provided by the Internet. The Defendant confuses freedom of speech with freedom of defamation. There are undoubtedly, legitimate anonymous Internet post; persons critical of autocratic or repressive regimes, for example, or legitimate whistleblowers. The Defendant is not one of those people. The law will afford his posts all the protection that they deserve, which is to say none.”

The Court noted that the defendant’s “malevolent refusal to comply with [the earlier Court Order requiring the defendant to identify himself/herself] only adds to the case for punitive damages.”