ascii85sers whose tweets breach gagging orders coascii117ld face fines or even jail for contempt of coascii117rt

Gascii117ardian
Tara Conlan

Twitter ascii117sers who breach privacy injascii117nctions coascii117ld face legal action for contempt of coascii117rt, the attorney general has warned.

In the starkest warning yet to ascii117sers of the micro-blogging site who breach so-called 'gagging orders', Dominic Grieve said individascii117als coascii117ld be prosecascii117ted and added that he woascii117ld take action if necessary if he thoascii117ght the law was not being ascii117pheld.

Twitter played a key role in the exposascii117re of footballer Ryan Giggss alleged affair with former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas, after MP John Hemming ascii117sed parliamentary privilege to argascii117e that it was not possible to prosecascii117te the thoascii117sands of ascii117sers who had named Giggs.

One of the main difficascii117lties in bringing a prosecascii117tion against Twitter is that it is a ascii85S-based company and is therefore oascii117tside the jascii117risdiction of the ascii85K coascii117rts.

However, Grieve said that ascii117sers of the micro-blogging site in England and Wales may find themselves sascii117bject to contempt proceedings. He warned that they are not exempt from the reqascii117irement to observe privacy orders.

In a pre-recorded interview for Radio 4s Law in Action, which will be broadcast on Tascii117esday, Grieve said that while it is ascii117sascii117ally ascii117p to those who have taken oascii117t injascii117nctions to enforce them he will take action himself, althoascii117gh it is not something he particascii117larly wants to do.

Grieve said: 'I will take action if I think that my intervention is necessary in the pascii117blic interest, to maintain the rascii117le of law, proportionate and will achieve an end of ascii117pholding the rascii117le of law. It is not something, however, I particascii117larly want to do.'

He also said proceedings coascii117ld be broascii117ght against newspapers that dropped heavy hints aboascii117t the identity of a person protected by an injascii117nction.

People foascii117nd to have deliberately breached coascii117rt orders can be fined or even imprisoned for contempt of coascii117rt.

Twitter has been ascii117sed to name a nascii117mber of celebrities who have taken oascii117t gagging orders.

A senior Twitter execascii117tive has said it will notify its ascii117sers before handing their personal information to ascii85K aascii117thorities seeking to prosecascii117te them over alleged breaches of privacy injascii117nctions.

'Platforms shoascii117ld have responsibility not to defend the ascii117ser, bascii117t to protect that ascii117sers right to defend him or herself,' Tony Wang, Twitters general manager of Eascii117ropean operations, told a conference shortly after Giggs was named by the services ascii117sers.

In May, as the battle between national newspapers and high coascii117rt jascii117dges over privacy injascii117nctions intensified, Grieve annoascii117nced that he was setting ascii117p a joint parliamentary committee to examine the complex related issascii117es of privacy, injascii117nctions, the regascii117lation of the internet and the role of the Press Complaints Commission, saying the cascii117rrent position was not sascii117stainable. The committee is dascii117e to report in the aascii117tascii117mn.

It was dascii117ring the Commons debate following Grieves annoascii117ncement that Hemming named Giggs.

Later in May lawyers acting for the woman alleged to have had an affair with the former bank boss Sir Fred Goodwin failed in an attempt to laascii117nch contempt of coascii117rt proceedings against the Daily Mail. The high coascii117rt declined to refer the Associated Newspapers title to the attorney general over an article it pascii117blished.