The phenomenon of trolls

Trolling has increasingly become a notorious problem for online users.  Predominantly celebrities are being targeted on social media sites such as facebook and twitter.  Individuals who are not in the public eye are also finding themselves victims of these vicious online attacks.

In serious cases people have had their privacy completely breached by trolls when their personal information such as names and addresses have been disclosed online as well as photographs of themselves.  Trolls will also verbally abuse their victims and go to any extent to destroy their reputation.

There have been cases recently where trolls are being sent to prison for their online behaviour.  This form of cyber bullying and defamation is completely unacceptable and needs to be monitored more extensively.

There may soon be changes in the law to amend the Defamation Act to ensure that there is a balance between the right to freedom of expression and the protection of reputation.  This will hopefully enforce stricter rules on trolling and potentially have more serious consequences for people's actions.