By ERI NIIYA/ Staff Writer
March 30, 2022 at 14:45 JST
The virtual YouTuber character Manami Isora, who is unrelated to the lawsuit (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The Tokyo District Court ordered an internet service provider to disclose information about an online poster after ruling that defamation against a virtual YouTuber character damaged the reputation of the woman behind the avatar.
In its March 28 ruling, the court said many people know that the woman uses the character, and that smears against the character were effectively smears against the creator.
The woman began working as a virtual YouTuber in 2019, using a girl character to sing and talk to viewers.
She filed a lawsuit against the internet service provider, seeking disclosure of the name of the person who posted a claim in 2020 that the woman’s avatar bullied another virtual YouTuber.
That contention spread over the internet, leading some to call on the woman to quit her channel and to hang herself.
More than 10,000 critical messages were posted.
The woman claimed that the defamation of her avatar character also hurt her reputation.
The internet service provider argued that the original post did not defame the woman because she and the character are different beings.
The court ruled that some of the bullying claims posted online were untrue and damaged the character’s reputation.
It recognized that those posts constitute defamation of the woman because those who know that she is behind the character will see the posts as smears against her.
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