Courts / Ireland / Report

Google ordered to handover details of account to Portakabin

Summary

In a High Court case, Portakabin Ltd and Portakabin (Ireland) Ltd obtained a Norwich Pharmacal order from Mr Justice Senan Allen, directing Google to disclose details of the Gmail account irishpeople2021@gmail.com. The order requires Google to provide the account holder's address, telephone number, any other email address, credit card information, IP address and timestamps. Portakabin seeks this information to identify the sender of alleged defamatory messages sent in March and April, which they claim caused serious damage to their business. The judge noted that the author, who identified themselves as a whistle‑blower, had deleted the account and requested the court not to enforce the order. The judge rejected the claim of anonymity under the 2014 Protected Disclosures Act, concluding that no legal right to anonymous letters exists. The order was granted to enable Portakabin to pursue legal or disciplinary action against the author. The case remains at the order stage.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Google ordered to handover details of account to Portakabin. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• October 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2021-07-02 Publication

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report