A Co Antrim-based business couple have been awarded £300,000 (€352,000) libel damages as part of a landmark legal battle to uncover the operator of a controversial gossip website.
Entrepreneurs Neil and Donna Sands secured the payout in a defamation and harassment lawsuit over abusive comments posted on Tattle Life.
Reporting restrictions on naming the defendant companies and suspected operator of the site, Sebastian Bond, were lifted at the High Court in Belfast on Friday.
In December 2023 Mr and Mrs Sands obtained awards of £150,000 in damages each, plus legal costs in mounting the action over what they regarded as a form of “hate speech”.
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It is believed to be the largest defamation payout of its kind in Northern Ireland.
A series of freezing orders for more than £1 million were also made while a worldwide forensic investigation was carried out to identify the defendants and their assets.
In a ruling delivered at that stage, Mr Justice McAlinden stated: “A day of reckoning will come for those behind Tattle Life and for those individuals who posted on Tattle Life.”
The online forum, which hosts threads commenting on influencers, celebrities and general members of the public, has attracted up to 12 million visitors a month.
Neil Sands, a 43-year-old technology entrepreneur, and his wife Donna, 34, who runs a fashion business, sued over postings made back in February 2021.
The couple claimed they had been subject to a campaign of harassment, invasion of privacy, defamation and breach of data rights.
According to the judge, the site had been set up to deliberately inflict hurt and harm on others by allowing the anonymous trashing of people’s reputations.
“This is clearly a case of peddling untruths for profit,” he stated.
In a complex two-year legal battle undertaken at their own cost, Mr and Mrs Sands deployed advanced technological and intelligence methods as they sought to discover who was in charge of the site.
The defendants can now be identified as UK national Sebastian Bond and the British and Hong Kong-registered companies Yuzu Zest Limited and Kumquat Tree Limited.
Barrister Peter Girvan argued it was now beyond doubt that Mr Bond operated the site.
With reporting restrictions and anonymity orders lifted, further legal efforts are now expected to focus on securing enforcement of the damages award.
Speaking outside court, Mr Sands stressed the case had also been taken on behalf of others who have suffered serious personal and professional harm through anonymous online attacks.
“We believe in free speech but not consequence-free speech; particularly where it is intended to, and succeeds in, causing real-world damage to people’s lives, livelihoods and mental health,” he said.
“We were in the fortunate position to be able to take the fight to these faceless operators, and it took a lot of time, effort and expense.”
Solicitor Peter Barr of Gately NI, who represented the couple, detailed the scope of the global forensic investigation.
“We had to pursue the money around the world, from the UK to Hong Kong, using a mix of legal innovation and digital evidence to expose what was clearly a sophisticated effort to avoid scrutiny,” he said.
“This judgment sends a clear message that online anonymity cannot shield unlawful behaviour.”
