An interesting FOI request made by Lucy Series looks at London Councils and it approach to it FACS criteria and lists http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/information_on_personal_budgets#incoming-212935

Lucy main webpage is http://thesmallplaces.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-transparent-are-personal-budgets.html#comment-form , of similiar interest and information is how HM Government will address the CPI increase of 5.2% when it was hoping that this would be less than the current rate of CPI http://benefits.tcell.org.uk/forums/many-benefits-should-be-increasing-next-april-2012-septembers-cpi-52-will-goverment-stand-its#comment-17981

The fact that you stated you would remove the post says it all really.

simliar interest http://benefits.tcell.org.uk/forums/atos-origin-complaints-procedure-revealed-wwwbenefitsandworkcouk and http://benefits.tcell.org.uk/forums/benefits-assessment-firm-causing-fear-and-loathing-among-claimants-says-mp-work-pensions-com

A claimant in an action for malicious falsehood must show that:

The statement is false.

The statement was published maliciously about the individual or his business: negligence is not sufficient (Shapiro v La Morta [1923] 40 TLR 201).

Special damage has directly and naturally resulted from the publication.

Source: http://plc.practicallaw.com/8-502-6388 (Corporate libel)

Atos, no matter what they might think, are not above the law – but they are being allowed to be so by craven hosting services, who should be demanding court orders before taking any action, and even then should give the blog, forum or website owner the opportunity to abate the alleged libel, not trash their entire operation.

Their already somewhat dubious name and reputation have been besmirched further by their own jittery and clumsy hand.

CarerWatch, of course, now has all the work of clearing up the damage done by a corporation, after it has flailed its arms around and decided, like a toddler in a tantrum, that breaking things is better than fixing itself and mending its own public reputation.

It will be interesting to see how things stand in, say, five years’ time.

After all, courting the Murdoch Empire was regarded as essential by all politicians at one time.

Now, association with the Great Pariah is the kiss of death to a political career.

This looks like the beginning of a long and destructive period of panic.

Even if they’re still holding the sledgehammer and you have both hands tied behind your back?

Seems to me offering to remove that single post is (if somewhat galling) a small price to pay to get the forum people rely on back on its feet.

You have to choose your battles in this life. I don’t know the set-up of CarerWatch but in the post I see that CW has “no resources”. I think you grossly underestimate what is required to successfully take on a state-sponsored multi-national.

By all means spread the word about this event and campaign. But any attempt to try and go for the Atos jugular, attacking them head-on is the very definition of futile, in my opinion.

What do you want to see? Frances et al getting their forum back? Or Frances being dragged through a lengthy court battle that might cost her every asset she owns and along with it her health?

Years ago a young couple tried to take on McDonalds. Well, I say “tried”. They won… sort of! But they could so easily have been destroyed by that. They underwent incredible stress.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Restaurants_v_Morris_%26_Steel

I’m generally a very pessimistic person. But I actually think that Atos will eventually be defeated and will be removed from the process of performing medicals. Why do I think that? Well, look what happened with superinjunctions. Think of Wikileaks. The internet doesn’t shut up when things go so badly wrong. Attempts to stifle speech tend to have the opposite effect.

This is a well-observed phenomenon and even has a cute name: “The Streisand effect”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Streisand_effect