Wikipedia ordered to release IP address of suspected blackmailer – G and G v Wikimedia, High Court

The publishers of Wikipedia – the user-generated online encyclopaedia – has been ordered by the High Court to reveal the details of a suspected blackmailer. The Wikimedia Foundation was happy to reveal the Internet Protocol address of the suspected poster, but only if the High Court obtained a court order requiring the disclosure. Accordingly, G – the businesswoman who was allegedly being blackmailed – asked for a court order and was granted one. Internet service providers can identify a particular connection accessing the Internet from a particular IP address. The case surrounds anonymous postings and letters sent to G, which she claims is part of a smear campaign because one of her companies is in dispute with the person she suspects of blackmailing her.