Some people fear it will set a "dangerous precedent" for anonymous accounts.
The Federal Court has ordered Twitter to release information that may reveal the identity of the person behind 'PRGuy17' - an anonymous high-profile pro-Andrews account represented by 'The Simpsons' character Troy McClure that has faced both heavy praise & criticism.
The account is being sued for defamation by Rebel News' Avi Yemini, who today tweeted that Twitter has 14 days to "hand PRGuy over to me."
In an email sent out via a Rebel News mailing list this morning, Yemini said he "supports people's right to anonymity on the internet until they use it unlawfully."
"Thanks to your help at AviLegalFund.com, I took action to unmask the anonymous Twitter troll 'PRGuy' after the account hid behind anonymity to avoid consequences."
The email was sent out regardless of whether someone donated or not.
Yemini said "today's outcome cost my legal fund approximately $30,000 already, but I believe it's worth it to hold Dan's troll to account."
He then linked a page to "chip into my legal fund...as my legal bills this year are mounting."
The court ordered Twitter to provide Yemini with the IP address for when the account was first registered, as well as the periods of December 31 2021 - February 11 2022 & March 21 2022 - May 20 2022.
In addition, the account's registered email address may be uncovered - but that could also be under the 'PRGuy' pseudonym.
Today's news has left some people - both fans & critics of PRGuy - concerned that it could set a "dangerous precedent" for anonymous accounts online, where social media companies may be forced to hand over user data for defamation cases.
Since the account's creation in March 2020, PRGuy has gained almost 80 thousand followers & has remained anonymous the entire time.
In May 2021, PRGuy said they were on a "high income," and more recently, said that they worked at a cafe.
Speculation online about whether the account is formally linked to the Victorian government has spread for months, but it remains to be seen whether that is the case or whether PRGuy is just a Labor supporter.
As of publication, PRGuy has not tweeted about today's decision.
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