Our firm recently represented successfully Google LLC and Google Ireland Ltd (the “Clients”) in a claim brought against them in Cyprus.
 
The claim was filed by an individual who alleged that various defamatory articles were published anonymously by a third person using our Clients’ blog services. In the context of the claim, the claimant requested a Norwich Pharmacal disclosure order, i.e. an order against our Clients directing them to disclose the identity of the anonymous publisher. Furthermore, the claimant was seeking injunctions against our Clients ordering them to remove the allegedly defamatory articles from the blog.
 
In December 2019, the District Court of Limassol issued its judgment holding that the Court had no jurisdiction to issue a disclosure order against our Clients as they were not incorporated in Cyprus. In particular, the Court held that the Cypriot courts have no jurisdiction to issue disclosure orders against foreign defendants. In relation to the injunctions sought, the Court decided that there was no prima facie good cause of action, as there was no evidence that the allegedly defamatory articles were read in Cyprus. This was on the basis that in internet defamation cases, the claimant must prove that the alleged defamatory publications were read in the jurisdiction in which they are seeking redress, in this case the jurisdiction being Cyprus.