A SALUTARY lesson in being fair when you review anything online was provided by the case of the Brit who groundlessly branded an American lawyer a “scumbag”.

Jason Page, a 28 year-old from Shropshire, anonymously posted that the Colorado lawyer lost most of cases and accused him of paying for good online reviews. The victim, Timothy Bussey, went on the attack and subpoenaed Google to discover Page’s identity, and to hit him with a £100,000 libel bill.

The web designer had appeared to be a genuine dis-satisfied client, and the lawyer suffered damage to his reputation and his business.

It’s all very well posting an honest impression online after you’ve been to a restaurant, stayed at a hotel or had a new kitchen installed. But anyone who posts maliciously for whatever reason is not necessarily going to get away with it these days just because he or she stays anonymous.