The claimant brought the action to remove the ‘keeping our kids safe from predators’ page after claiming it breached his human rights. But only minutes after the first page was shutdown an almost identical site was created and as The Post went to press today it had already received over 500 ‘likes’.

Harassment

According to a report by the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Justice McCloskey ruled on Friday at Belfast’s High Court that some of the content being shared on the page amounted to prima facie harassment of the claimant. He then ordered Facebook to remove the page within 72 hours. In response to the order, Facebook said it was ‘considering our next steps in light of the court's judgments’, but then removed the page.
The claimant, who cannot be identified, made a compliant after he found his photograph posted on the page following his release from prison. The picture could be seen by anyone viewing the page, with some users making threatening comments.

Sex offences

The man – who had been given a six-year prison sentence for multiple child sex offences – alleged the page amounted to harassment, misuse of private information and a breach of his right to privacy and freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment.
Some of the comments published on the page were disclosed in court. One said the man should be ‘put down like an animal’, while another added that he had ‘taken this page to court, he must want to be the head paedophile and rule over all sex offenders’.

Not proportionate

Facebook’s lawyers -- Belfast-based Johns Elliot, led by head of the firm’s litigation department Ronnie Robinson – had argued that it was not a proportionate action to remove the page, which was used by some 4,000 people.
However, Mr Justice McCloskey said: ‘Society has dealt with the plaintiff in accordance with the rule of law. He has been punished by incarceration and he is subject to substantial daily restrictions on his lifestyle... I conclude that the pendulum of the rule of law swings in the plaintiff's favour.’