Fastway Couriers is seeking High Court orders against Twitter in a bid to identify the operator of an allegedly abusive parody account for the purpose of suing them.
Twitter’s lawyer said it takes seriously both freedom of expression and the principles of law and will comply if the court makes orders.
Mr Justice Senan Allen, having heard submissions on Thursday, said there was “an awful lot” to consider and he would give judgment on a later date soon. Donogh Hardiman BL, for Fastway, said it needs various orders to identify the person or persons behind the parody account which first appeared in late 2019. It was recently renamed Fartway Deliveries Ireland and was deactivated by the unidentified controller(s) after Fastway initiated proceedings last week. Fastway wants to sue those behind it over content already posted and there was “no comfort” it might not reappear, counsel said.
The account featured “abusive” tweets suggesting Fastway drivers were “incompetent, with no regard for customers and their packages”, that drivers had Covid-19, and parts of the country were “holes” to which Fastway would not deliver, counsel outlined. One post said: “We have decided to postpone our deliveries to non-essential areas. Anyone living in Tuam, Athy, Swords and other dire pits of existence, blame yourselves.”
Another said: “To help with the increased demand for our services, we have flown in 189 Bulgarian drivers so we can sit back and do f*** all.” A further post said: “We’d like to welcome our new driver, Jack. Not only could be not give the slightest shit about your stupid ASOS dresses but he’s also riddled with Covid-19 and will lick your f**king doors. Welcome Jack, you utter turnip.”
When Mr Justice Allen wondered if “any right-thinking person” would think this was Fastway, counsel said a number of Twitter users may have believed it was Fastway while others noted it was a parody account. He said one person had queried how long it would take their order from Sports Direct to be delivered to which the parody account responded: “How long is a piece of tape?” The parody account operator in one tweet referred to “washing my hands” of the account, saying apparently people “can’t tell the difference”, counsel added.
Fastway Couriers Ireland is one of the largest courier services in Ireland and Fastway Couriers is an international franchise, he said. The parody account operated for a period as Fastway Couriers Ireland using his client’s registered trademark and logo and, while there was a “slight change” to the name used after April 14th, the account still used the Fastway logo.
At issue was his client’s business, a personal service which involves customers putting respect and trust in the competence of the service and staff, counsel said. The parody account’s suggestion of unsanitary practices and a danger in terms of Covid “cut to the bone” of Fastway’s reputation.The Fastway word and logo are subject of trademarks held by the master franchisor in New Zealand who consented to this application being brought to protect his client’s rights, including the exclusive rights to use the trademark. Fastway did not know what line of trade the parody account operator might be involved in or the purpose of the account, he added.
Twitter, represented by David Holland SC, said the dispute was between Fastway and the account operator as the account had been de-activated by the user and Twitter was “mute” on Fastway’s application, neither consenting to nor opposing it. Twitter was founded on the principles of free expression “which we take seriously and defend”, counsel said.
EU law absolves Twitter from an obligation to monitor the content of tweets and Twitter did not provide information about users except by virtue of court order. Twitter was also founded on the principle of law and obedience of court orders and would comply if an order was made but any information Twitter was required to disclose should be specifically referrable only to the identity of the user. Some Twitter users may give a name which is not their real name and Twitter may not have all the information sought, he added.
