Online anonymity has been dealt yet another hard hitting blow, this time by Australian courts. In a case of defamation, the courts have ordered that Google relinquish all relevant evidentiary material about several bloggers who allegedly defamed businessman Shane Radbone.

The former footballer along with his wife want to sue the bloggers on accusations of defamation and up until now, the problem was that the bloggers were just anonymous faces behind a blog. The courts have given Google a total of 21 days to comply with the order, which states that Google must hand over email addresses, telephone numbers and the IP addresses provided by the person or persons who created the blog.

Google declined to comment on the case, but we know that the company has handed over details in criminal cases and criminal investigations before. It is unclear whether Google has handed over information in civil legal proceedings before, though.