Court order against Facebook and Twitter over Ana Kriegel’s killers continued

A court order banning social media companies from allowing identification of two juvenile killers on their platforms has been continued.

Facebook and Twitter previously appeared at Dublin Central Criminal Court on June 19, to face contempt of court proceedings after photographs and the names of Ana Kriegel’s murderers, known as Boy A and Boy B, appeared on their sites.

The pair were found guilty in June of killing Ana, whose naked body was found in an abandoned farmhouse in Lucan, Co Dublin, last May after the 14-year-old had been reported missing by her parents.

Boy A was also found guilty of aggravated sexual assault.

The two 14-year-olds are the youngest convicted killers in the history of the Irish state, and have been granted lifelong anonymity due to their age.

Hours after the verdict, pictures of the two boys began appearing on social media, as well as their names, and alleged threats against them and their families.

In the previous hearing it emerged that another child, who had no involvement in the case, was falsely identified as one of the killers on social media.

On Friday, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Brendan Grehan SC told the court he had concerns that the identification of the boys could flare up again because of sentencing, which is expected on July 15.

Both Facebook Ireland Ltd and Twitter International Company provided signed affidavits to the court in which they detailed the actions they had taken to remove the pictures, comments and tweets that identified the boys since the order had been imposed.

Counsel for Facebook Rossa Fanning told the court that his client had been “entirely co-operative with the order” in “exceptional circumstances”.

The order currently reads: “An order in the nature of an injunction directing respondents to remove from their sites material identifying the two boys convicted of the murder of Ana Kriegel of which they become aware, or which is brought to their attention.”

Counsel for both social media sites said they would not apply for the order to be changed and have no opposition to the order as it stands.

Another review of the order was set for July 27, and will remain in place until then.

The court previously heard that the family of Boy B had gone into hiding after pictures of their son were posted on Facebook and Twitter.