INTERNET giant Google has lost a landmark legal battle that is expected to open the floodgates to online litigation against anonymous online commentators.

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered Google Australia to release details of those behind a website that labelled Gold Coast entrepreneur and self-help guru Jamie McIntyre a “thieving scumbag”.

Private investigator Travis Burch, who was hired by Mr McIntyre to find out the website’s author so he could sue for defamation, said yesterday that it was “a good day for people who don’t frankly want to be defamed on the internet”.

“We’ve done a lot of work in this area and identifying and pushing trying to expose people and tracking them down through records that they leave on the Internet,” Mr Burch said.

“Having a win in courts just means we’re a couple of steps closer to bringing the person to a form of justice.

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“The content that appeared on that website and (has) been promoted through the website is blatantly defamatory.”

Barrister John Bryson said he thought it was the first time legal action of this kind against Google had been successful in Australia.

“People need to know that they can take on the big companies, the major players, and get a win,” Mr Bryson said.

The allegedly defamatory website is one of the first listings on a Google search for Mr McIntyre and countless efforts to find the owners, including hiring a private investigator, have so far been unsuccessful.