Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
Feuds on social media are nothing new to anyone who follows local news.
The latest edition of what some like to call a “saga” involved local content production company Night Owl Cinematics (NOC), its co-founder Sylvia Chan and the anonymous administrators of the social media account with the handle @sgcickenrice, which sparked all the fuss.
Those following the developments may have noticed a familiar story arc: After all the sound and fury of public revelations, public statements, public counsel letters and lawyer letters made public, there is often a public apology, and sometimes, reconciliation (or not).
Public Quarrels, Private Court Proceedings
What often happens in private, however, are legal proceedings.
What’s at stake? Rights, justification and sometimes compensation for physical or emotional damage.
And once lawyers (and sometimes law enforcement) get involved, it’s not uncommon to hear public figures – who live much of their lives in the open – refusing to comment further, in due to an ongoing investigation, an ongoing court case, or both.
What happens, however, when one or more parties are anonymous, as in the case of the @sgcickenrice admin(s)?
For more on what might be happening behind the scenes of these public sagas on social media, Mothership spoke to litigation attorney Shaun Leong, who is a partner at Withers KhattarWong.
Can anonymous people escape legal responsibility?
The short answer to that question is no – Leong explains that the legal implications for someone making anonymous allegations about another party are no different than a case where the allegations are not made anonymously.
Potential Criminal Prosecutions
Firstly, if any laws are being broken because of the allegations – such as anti-harassment law, for example – then the police can intervene. Needless to say, the police have sweeping powers to investigate offenses and can ask social media platforms to release information relevant to their investigations.
By the time a criminal prosecution is initiated by the state, the prosecution would have the identity and personal information of the administrator(s), Leong says.
Criminal charges are mentioned in open court and are considered a public hearing. The names of the defendants will be published on the court’s online court list.
Of course, the above is only relevant if law enforcement is involved, after a crime (or suspected crime) has been committed.
Potential civil lawsuit
In addition to criminal prosecution, a civil suit may be brought against anonymous parties who make public statements and allegations.
The person making these statements could potentially be sued for reasons such as defamation, harassment, or even the commission of a tort (or, what is called a “misdemeanor” in legal parlance) by spreading malicious lies. .
The person prosecuted will then have to plead his case. In a defamation suit, for example, the person would have to prove that the messages or statements posted were true statements of fact, statements of opinion based on fact, or that the posting was made without malice and in the public interest.
But what if the anonymous party simply ignores the lawyer’s letters or remains silent?
If the administrator of an anonymous social media account doesn’t respond to a lawyer’s letter, it could create more problems for itself.
The question can go to court even without the anonymous parties being identified.
“It is theoretically possible to bring an action in Singapore courts without knowing the name or address of the person(s) behind an anonymous social media account,” says Leong.
If the person(s) cannot be identified, the Court may grant permission to validly serve court documents via Instagram’s “direct message” feature, or a similar contact channel on a social media platform.
And as the court case progresses, the anonymous parties can be summoned to come forward.
After the start of a legal action, the Court has the discretion to order the administrator to appear in court in person to give evidence in court, for example.
Failure to do so could result in contempt of court penalties unless the person has good reason not to show up.
Can anonymous parties simply choose to remain anonymous throughout the legal process?
In the case of @sgcickenrice, the administrator(s) remained anonymous even while responding to the letter from NOC’s lawyers.
They returned their own legal letter from their pro bono lawyers, Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, and posted a copy online for public viewing.
But in such cases, anonymity may not last forever, especially if a legal case is involved.
There are technical legal processes that lawyers can use to obtain the information they need to pursue a lawsuit.
For example, a lawyer might use pre-action examinationswhich are requests for information which can have the force of a court decision.
If approved by the court, interrogatories can be served on people who appear to be related to or appear to have been in recent contact with the administrator of the account, to compel the disclosure of relevant information, Leong says.
If, for example, an anonymous admin is seen talking to someone in an Instagram story, that person could be interviewed and asked to divulge the identity of the admin.
A regular commenter on posts from the anonymous account could also be questioned, if it appears that the commenter knows the administrator.
So, Leong explained, Singapore courts have the power to order that information such as the identity of the administrator be disclosed.
The party who brought the lawsuit can also write to the relevant social media platforms to request the disclosure of identifying information.
Leong puts us in the shoes of social media companies to try to see how they might handle such requests:
How would social media platforms handle requests for identification from anonymous account administrators?
First, social media companies would generally only share information if a court order is obtained – to do otherwise could be a violation of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).
But even with a court order, the social media platform could potentially fear that disclosing personal information would violate its user agreement.
Thus, the social media platform could ask the party that wants it to reveal information to sign first. compensation — essentially an agreement to pay compensation to the social media platform, in the event that the anonymous user sues the social media platform for disclosing their personal information.
Another consideration the social media company may have is own legal responsibility.
Where an anonymous user has made potentially defamatory and/or harassing statements, the company may also be sued as a co-defendant at trial, for its role in facilitating the publication of those statements and amplifying them to users. in line. .
Thus, to avoid such legal action, the company may decide to disclose the requested information, and may ask to be assured that it will not be prosecuted for its involvement in the matter.
What about anonymous accounts created with fake personal data?
Suppose the social media company leaks the user’s anonymous information, but the information turns out to be false or does not directly link to the person(s) actually responsible.
For example, the user account may have been created with false names and/or false contact details.
But Leong suggests that “in the digital age, it’s almost impossible to be completely anonymous.”
“The reality is that you leave digital footprints every day from the moment you wake up and use your phone. Metadata, which is data about data, is created all the time.
The ability to experience anonymity really depends on how much data you can gather. Relevant internet service providers and social media platforms may have access to this data.”
So someone who is truly determined to uncover the identity of their anonymous accusers can repeat the process of obtaining a court order, with every service provider who may have relevant information.
This process can be long and expensive, but the costs can be passed on to the anonymous party.
This would be done by writing to the administrator of the account asking them to release their identity, while advising them that if they refused to release identifying information, individuals could be held liable for costs incurred in any legal proceedings. later to compel disclosure.
However, whether these costs will ultimately be paid by the administrators depends on whether the court orders them to pay the other party’s legal costs and whether they even have the means to pay.
What’s next in the NOC case?
While how the case develops from there remains to be seen, it’s likely that the identities of the people behind @sgcickenrice will come to light if the case goes to court.
It’s unclear if NOC will pursue the legal proceedings outlined in its attorney’s cease and desist letter to @sgcickenrice, dated Oct. 11.
But attorneys for @sgnickenrice responded that they would “substantially respond” to the cease and desist letter.
Leong’s view on the matter, however, is that an amicable settlement should be considered — particularly when those involved wish to remain anonymous and/or minimize damage to their reputation.
One way to do this would be through mediation.
Leong explained how this could work:
“In a mediation, the parties may jointly appoint a mediator.
A mediator cannot settle the dispute, but would be able to share views that neither party considered, suggest a compromise that might work for both parties, or even share points of view of how a case would likely turn out (in terms of the prospects of success) if indeed a nasty fight unfolds in court.
A mediator can register a settlement agreement which can in turn become law when approved by the courts via a consent order. There will be substantial savings with mediation.”
As Leong points out, pursuing claims in court “can have the unfortunate effect of publicizing the allegations made against each other (which could lead to undesirable implications on both sides).”
Mediation, on the other hand, would allow the parties to keep their dispute private and confidential.
Top photo by Chris Yang on Unsplash
Follow and listen to our podcast here
