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Friday 8 June 2012
Leading article: A bad day for faceless Facebook trolls
The internet and social media are a boon in so many ways, but they also have a dark side.
The practice known as "trolling" can make life a misery for those targeted, and so long as the perpetrators are able to shelter behind the web's vaunted anonymity, their victims have little recourse. That could be set to change, following a High Court ruling that instructs Facebook to reveal the name, email and IP addresses of those who falsely branded a woman a paedophile and a drug dealer.
The judgment should open the way for many, many others who have suffered abuse on the internet to seek similar orders, and then bring private prosecutions against their tormentors. The best result, though, should be the deterrence of would-be "trolls". Internet anonymity can be positive, but the liberation it fosters also allows crude racism, sexism and vindictive personal defamation to flourish. Harassment in cyberspace is no less damaging than in real life, just harder to trace. If this area of impunity is now being blown open, that has to be a change for the better.
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This week's big questions: How best to react to Woolwich? Has Miliband got what it takes? And is Stephen King right about ebooks?
Ian Rankin -
What, let gays get married? We must be bonkers
Mark Steel -
Dogma will always lead to murder. In the end, scepticism is the only answer
A C Grayling -
The Daily Cartoon
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Farewell, Shameless. Your heirs have work to do
Owen Jones
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Editorial: Salutary lessons from a libellous tweet from Sally Bercow
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As Hay-on-Wye opens this week, it's time for book festivals to open a new and exciting chapter
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Tim Key: 'If you don't have to tranquilise an animal to get it into your zoo it shouldn't come in'
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The Holocaust can’t be a joke – least of all in Berlin
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The new version of Ibsen's Public Enemy is a drama where democracy doesn't win any votes
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