On Monday Ryanair returns to the courts in a case rooted in the company's dealings with unions but which could have consequences for the internet's reputation for anonymity, writes Shane Hegarty.
In mid-March, Ryanair secured an injunction in the Dublin High Court against the Ryanair European Pilots Association (REPA) website, restraining those involved from deleting or destroying the code-names used on its message board. The site had been a forum for pilots, and included criticism of the airline and, claims Ryanair, some worrying threats. That the company wants to lift the code-names of the individuals posting messages will not be welcomed by the pilots, for obvious reasons, but it would also have repercussions for message boards across the internet.
It is not the first time that Ryanair has set the lawyers on to its online critics. Last year, it threatened legal action against Professional Pilots Rumour Network (www.pprune.org), a popular site on which pilots share information and gossip. The site removed one discussion thread after a solicitor's letter landed, although it is still home to much criticism of Ryanair, as well as plenty of rumour and hearsay that passengers might be better off not reading, particularly when the rumours prove not to be true. This week, for example, it featured rumours of a hijacking over Stansted.
Nor are these the only sites on which potshots are taken at the company. The www.ryan-be-fair.org site features comments from people claiming to be Ryanair staff and includes some serious allegations about the company's attitude to safety. And www.ryanair.org.uk, an unofficial site which asks for passenger experiences, publishes its correspondence with the airline's solicitors.
However, Ryanair's High Court action is another front in a long-running battle between the airline and the pilots' unions. REPA was launched last October by the Irish Airline Pilots' Association (IALPA) and its British counterpart, BALPA, and claims only to be representing pilots' rights. Ryanair insists that the website has been a conduit for intimidation of pilots, especially those co-operating in retraining for a new fleet.
"There are three people on the website who have exhorted people either to intimidate our pilots or threaten physical violence towards them, which we will get to the bottom of," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told The Irish Times. "Are we looking for the other names? No. We couldn't give a shite. Is this about pilots who have complained about our terms and conditions? Absolutely not. Couldn't care less, they can complain all day. But what they can't do is threaten or intimidate our people."
However, among the pilots who have joined the organisation, the High Court action is seen as just another attempt to chip away at their resolve in forming a "united voice" in dealing with company.
There is a tangle of legal cases involving claims of victimisation of some pilots, Ryanair's insistence that its pilots are being harassed, and a Labour Court finding that there is a trade dispute between Ryanair and IALPA. The airline has challenged that finding because it does not believe it is compelled to negotiate with any trade union. Meanwhile, IALPA has said that it has offered to co-operate in an investigation into any harassment or bullying of pilots, but that Ryanair has refused.
ON MONDAY, IT is likely that the injunction against the REPA site will be extended, but this row could have wider implications if the High Court eventually orders that those using code-names be identified. O'Leary argues a precedent has been set in the tracking down of paedophiles online, and the names of those who make threats can be revealed. However, much could depend on how seriously a court views the threats, on the site's speed in having them retracted or removed, and on whether the attempt to reveal some names would unmask others in the process.
NUI Galway politics lecturer Niall Ó Dochartaigh, who has researched online activism, agrees a criminal threat can lead to the names of anonymous contributors being revealed, but it can be difficult to be certain who has made comments unless specifics are involved. Employees airing grievances online is, however, a growing phenomenon.
"People have been sacked for doing it in Britain in a couple of recent cases which have been upheld by the courts," says Ó Dochartaigh, adding that for years large companies have been monitoring what is said about them online. But what Ryanair is doing is still unusual.
"It would be rare for a company to put that much effort into that kind of thing, to take it so seriously," Ó Dochartaigh says.
Meanwhile, back on the Professional Pilots Rumour Network website, not everyone is against Ryanair. One, calling himself Leo Hairy Camel, is vociferous in his defence of the airline. But isn't Leo Hairy Camel an anagram of Michael O'Leary? Of course, O'Leary would be too busy running the company to spend time posting messages on websites, but unless anonymity is removed we will never know who is really behind this and other posts.