TROLL HUNT VICTORY
ASHY HATER TO BE UNMASKED
CELEBRITY fitness guru Ashy Bines’ best friend is a step closer to unmasking an anonymous online troll who allegedly defamed her on social media, a court has heard.
Federal Court judge Roger Derrington yesterday made an order under The Hague Convention for California-based Instagram to hand over documents identifying the mysterious creator of the “Shit Ashy Bines Says 3” (SABS3) Instagram page.
That anonymous profile was allegedly used to defame Gold Coast clothing retailer Gretchen Vonlanthen in February this year, the court heard.
It was one of several Facebook and Instagram accounts used between February 23 and mid-March this year to make 111 allegedly defamatory comments about Ms Vonlanthen and her clothing company Gretty Rose the Label – of which Ms Bines owns a share.
Ms Vonlanthen claims in court documents that the comments falsely implied she was dumb, greedy, pretentious, a snob, a liar, was ripping people off and benefited from her friend Ashy Bines stealing from other people.
On April 4, Ms Vonlanthen and her company sued the anonymous “Jane Doe” who ran the SABS3 profile, and four other women allegedly in charge of two Facebook groups and two Instagram accounts, for defamation.
Ms Vonlanthen is claiming $630,000 damages, alleging the comments – including that she was “scum” and that her twoyear-old daughter would be “opening her legs in no time” – triggered clothing sales to plummet.
Justice Derrington yesterday told Ms Vonlanthen’s lawyer Samuel Barber that the online comments were “appalling and vulgar”.
“So this is what is called social media is it?” Justice Derrington asked.
“In its poorest form,” Mr Barber replied.
Justice Derrington agreed to order Instagram to hand over documents related to SABS3 to Ms Vonlanthen under The Hague Convention, saying the material filed in court showed she and her company had “suffered significantly as a result of the social media attack upon them”.
Instagram must hand over the real name, email address, phone number and IP address linked to the SABS3 account after Ms Vonlanthen’s lawyer claimed the company did not believe Australian laws applied to them and would not comply without a Hague Convention order.
Instagram operates here but does not have a registered office in this country, the court heard.