Spoof tweeter will not be unmasked

Category: Electronic Disclosure

9 August, 2012

The request for Twitter to disclose the identity of a spoof tweeter has been denied.

Northcliffe Media, owned by the Daily Mail, had filed a subpoena in the US to have the identity of '@UnSteveDorkland' disclosed.

The Twitter account spoofs the company's chief executive and the media group had said: "These tweets went far beyond commentary and satire, causing pain and offence."

However, the account holder, who remains anonymous, successfully challenged the e-disclosure request and Northcliffe and Twitter have backed down.

"They underestimated me, they underestimated my lawyer Frank Sommers and they underestimated the power of the worldwide internet community," the man behind the account said.

Northcliffe claimed its motivation for filing for the disclosure of his identity was down to concerns for the safety of staff over fears that employees were being watched.

It also suggested that some of the information posted in the tweets, of which there were 700 in four weeks, could also have been obtained from hacking an email account.

The account holder has always denied the allegations and said that he only intended to make people smile.

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