Ken Clarke, the justice secretary, has revealed plans to force website operators to reveal the identity of users who post abusive and defamatory comments against others online.
The proposed approach has been announced in advance of the second reading of the Defamation Bill, which is scheduled in Parliament next week, and comes in the wake of several high-profile 'online abuse' cases.
This week a woman abused online won the right to receive the IP addresses and subscriber information of trolls who ruthlessly abused her on the social networking site, Facebook.
Nicola Brookes was targeted after posting a message of support for an X-factor contestant who was receiving sustained internet abuse. She was the subject of a vicious campaign during which a fake profile was created and that was used to portray her as a paedophile and a drug dealer.
Facebook has announced it will not contest the order and will hand over the information requested by the court, allowing Ms Brookes to pursue a legal case against her abusers.
However, Mr Clarke would like the law to go further.
"As the law stands, individuals can be the subject of scurrilous rumour and allegation on the web with little meaningful remedy against the person responsible," he said.
"The Government wants a libel regime for the Internet that makes it possible for people to protect their reputations effectively but also ensures that information online can't be easily censored by casual threats of litigation against website operators," he added.
The abuse is not limited to individuals, and the law will also protect businesses from damaged PR. Last month Gulf Keystone Petroleum became the latest company to suffer from posts damaging its reputation.
The law will make website providers intermediaries, who can be compelled by a court to disclose information to permit legal action. The new law would protect the website from legal action as publisher of the comments, providing that it complies and hands over the contact details of those responsible.
The new defamation laws are designed to streamline and enhance the existing laws which are considered among the world's toughest.
Source:
Internet trolls face tough new UK rules (Reuters)
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