Brighton mum launches legal battle against Facebook trolls (From The Argus)

• "Facebook claims to operate under a 'real names' policy (check the statements they have made about this case and their terms and conditions if you are in doubt). The suggestion that anonymity should be protected at all costs is a red herring in this case - this story is not about whether or not fake profiles should be allowed on Facebook. Facebook already say that fake profiles are not permitted and that therefore anonymity is not permitted.
  
  The problem could be solved overnight if Facebook took sensible steps to enforce the 'real names' policy which it claims to be using, and if it took realistic and timely action against the minority of troll users who do not want to play by the same rules as the rest of us. But instead, they pretend that asking for an email address and a telephone number is the same as verification of identity - which is completely ridiculous.
  
  The point about anonymity is that if one wants it, there are plenty of places one can go to to play stupid trolling games with hidden identities. All the rest of us need to know is where those places are so we can avoid them like the plague and leave the trolls to troll each other.
  
  Yes, as Archie Bun suggests, anonymity is important. But NOT on Facebook. On a social network like Facebook, trust is essential. We need to be certain that the people we are talking to are who they say they are, and we need to have mechanisms in place to ensure that they take responsibility for their free speech. I am not asking for addresses to be made public, but I am asking that Facebook be certain that it knows who is who and responds to appropriate legal requests for disclosure when asked to do so by a court of law.
  
  I also disagree with the contention that fighting back is the wrong thing to do. Whether or not Ms. Brookes fights back or not is entirely her decision. I'm sure it would be better for the trolls if she just shut up and took the abuse being handed out to her without complaint, or if she allowed herself to be hounded off of the network, but I tend to agree with her - hiding from the bullies is not a real solution. And that is the bottom line. Ms. Brookes is the victim here. Why should she be forced to adjust her behaviour so that the trolls can continue to abuse her and others without sanction? I say good on her. Even if she does not get everything she wants, she is at least bringing the issue to the media and hopefully her action will contribute to Facebook becoming a safer and more responsible network we can all use safely."
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