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Website operators in the UK may soon have to identify people who have posted defamatory messages online, allowing the victim to undertake legal action against the "troll" rather than against the website. But who are these people and how will this proposed new law be different from the current regulations?
Who are the internet trolls?
The term has come to mean those behind intentionally provocative online actions intended to cause grief or incite an angry response. This can happen in online forums, message boards, chat rooms, and on social networks and microblogging sites, as well as personal emails. Trolls may exist in any online community that allows comments from users - for example, video-streaming sites, such as YouTube and online video-games sites.
They can act individually or in groups - known as "colluding" trolls. One member of such a group often behaves as the obvious troll, while the others disguise themselves as normal members of the online community. These trolls in disguise then defend the comments of the overt one. Trolls may also target the recently bereaved, posting offensive material about the dead person.....continues
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Luckily we don't have a problem but I can't help feeling legislation of this nature will only make people even more fearful of posting their opinions on forums etc. Small websites like this can control bad behaviour easily if a complaint is made but Facebook and Twitter etc will have a big job on their hands if this law does come in. However, it will be good to see website owners take a little more responsibility over what is posted on their forums.
