// Netherlands · Review removal

Court Orders Google to Unmask Antisemitic Reviewers in NEG-IT Case

Rechtbank Amsterdam · 29 June 2023

ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2023:4005

The case

NEG-IT requested Google to provide identification data of reviewers who had posted antisemitic and defamatory reviews. The court granted the request because the reviews were clearly unlawful and NEG-IT had no other way to discover the perpetrators' identity for follow-up action.

What the court considered

01The reviews were false, unnecessarily offensive and contained antisemitic statements, making them clearly unlawful
02NEG-IT had no other, less intrusive way to discover the identity of the reviewers
03NEG-IT's interest in obtaining effective legal protection outweighs the reviewers' interest in anonymity
04Google had already acknowledged that the reviews violated their policies by removing them upon NEG-IT's request

What this means in practice

Companies that are victims of serious defamatory or discriminatory reviews can successfully initiate proceedings under Article 843a against platforms to obtain identification data. Platforms will be required to comply with such orders when the unlawfulness is evident. This judgment confirms that the Dutch courts are willing to order the disclosure of reviewers' identification data when there is clearly unlawful, antisemitic content, and demonstrates how the balancing of interests is weighed in serious cases of online reputational damage.

Legal basis

Artikel 843a Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering
Artikel 6:162 BW (onrechtmatige daad)
Artikel 8 EVRM (privacy)
Artikel 25 Brussel I-bis Verordening (rechtsmacht)

Review removal

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