Belfast man begins legal action over Facebook ‘informers’ page

A Belfast man has begun High Court proceedings after he featured on a Facebook page about alleged paramilitary informers.

His legal team are seeking an order that the social media giant must ensure the profile ‘INLA Touts’ does not reappear.

The man taking the case is not being identified amid fears for his safety. He claims his name appeared along with others on the page which was added and then removed from Facebook.

At a court hearing, Mr Justice Deeny put the case back for a further review next month.

A lawyer for the man seeking the injunction insisted strong action was required against online name and shame campaigns.

"This is an important case in a developing area of law," Paul Farrell of McIvor Farrell Solicitors said. "It's crucial that individuals rights are protected and that pages such as this are robustly dealt with by Facebook."

Mr Farrell added: “Our client is concerned for his safety and denies any wrongdoing whatsoever.”