Superinjunction Footballer sues Twitter and its users in London High Court

A prominent footballer who it has been claimed on Twitter took out a superinjunction against the media has begun legal proceedings against the social network and some of its users.

The proceedings began in the London High Court on Wednesday and according to The Guardian this is believed to be the first case against a social network and its users.

At the start of May a Twitter account was set up which tweeted the names of a number of celebrities who it claimed had taken out superinjunctions. A number of the tweets which named celebrities such as, Jemima Khan, are known to be incorrect.

The account attracted over 10,000 followers and its messages were frequently retweeted.

Although the messages are stored on servers in the US, Britain has far reaching libel laws. Under British law persons who feel they have been libelled can sue for damages in English courts, even if the libel was occurred in another jurisdiction. Publication on websites that can be accessed in the UK, can be sufficient grounds to launch a case in London.