Online Reputation

We will help protect your reputation and privacy in relation to all forms of internet publication, from news sites to anonymous blogs, from Facebook and Twitter to Snapchat

We have an unrivalled track record in securing the removal of material published unlawfully online, including documents, photographs and film, for clients all over the world. Carter-Ruck is at the forefront of litigation involving social media; indeed, we were instructed in one of the first ever cases involving defamatory Tweets.

As well as libel and privacy, we are able to use the law to protect our clients against online threats and abuse and iCloud hacking.

We have obtained the removal of many thousands of links to false, intrusive or private material around the world through the deployment (often in conjunction with lawyers in other jurisdictions) of complaints in defamation, privacy infringement, protection from harassment, breaches of data protection and copyright infringement.

Our cases range from targeted takedown operations concerning material which is low-volume but highly sensitive, to coordinating global, mass takedown operations on behalf of high profile or UHNW clients whose privacy has been infringed.

Our services

  • Helping to identify and locate the authors of anonymous postings. We frequently secure court orders requiring internet service providers to disclose user information
  • Engaging with publishers or website operators to remove or modify false or intrusive material and, where necessary, escalating to formal Court proceedings
  • Coordinating with overseas lawyers where publications have an international dimension
  • Contacting the leading search engines to block inaccurate information from search results
  • Conducting investigations, in consultation with IT experts, into who has accessed information
  • Working with SEO specialists and PR teams to mitigate reputational damage

24/7 Partner-led Crisis Response

We have a 24-hour, 365 days of the year crisis management response team – one of our specialist partners is always available to respond to urgent crises at any time.

Case studies

Carter-Ruck lawyers have successfully supported a number of clients in the cases of online reputation.

  • Numerous articles and other material containing unfounded and damaging allegations about a businessman were removed from newspaper websites, other sites and blogs, and over 300 search results on Google, Yahoo! and Bing were delisted
  • We successfully prevented the publication of a story about a well-known personality in four major newspaper groups and went on to secure the removal of private material from websites, blogs, Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere, through a multi-track strategy which quickly reduced exposure on search engines and permanently removed content from host websites
  • We ensured the successful removal of over 396 URLs from Google relating to the reputation of a single high net-worth individual, following a concerted campaign of take-down requests. This strategy also resulted in the removal of hundreds of posts from social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
  • We have also been able permanently to ‘geoblock’ content from a number of internationally-recognised publications in various countries from being accessible in England
  • When a prominent academic’s personal photographs were shared all over the internet, we got them taken down from newspaper websites, other sites, blogs and Twitter, and in the delisting of over 130 images from various search engines. The initial intensive work was followed by regular searches and web monitoring to ensure any new content was removed quickly