Internet defamation cases double in a year


Sweet and Maxwell have published information suggesting that the number of people who have gone to court in England and Wales over alleged defamation online has doubled in a year.

An increase in the use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites is thought to be behind the increase in libel claims, as more people use the platforms, and with greater frequency. Barrister Korieh Duodu considers that a failure to check facts before publishing comments on social media is largely to blame, which is compounded by the immediacy of the sites, which means a comment can be typed up and published worldwide immediately. The traditional media have of course more delays, which allow for more thorough proofing procedures.

Mr Duodo is a spokesman for the Libel Reform Campaign and says the draft Defamation Bill needs to afford website operators a cost efficient means of mounting a public interest defence against defamation claims.

Gilbert Nesbitt, Senior Partner at Wilson Nesbitt solicitors in Belfast, Northern Ireland, commented:

"While the emergence of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have created a useful additional means to access and deliver information, they carry substantial risks for users who publish information without due diligence and care.

"The danger largely exists because these sites, in their earliest stages, were seen as merely another means of communicating with friends - an extension to emails and SMS texts, and there was as such an assumption of privacy, and liberty, with the comments that could be posted.

"However, the reality is very much different. While comments may be made between friends, they are made in a public arena and committed to print, meaning they may have a sizeable audience and there is a permanency about the comments. A comment made 'off the cuff', or in a moment of heightened emotion, can be read by hundreds, thousands, millions, and not just when the comment is made, but the next day, the week after and so on. As such there is a need for care and diligence when using any social media site to comment and offer opinion."

If you live in Northern Ireland and feel you have been the victim of defamation, whether by libellous comments in print, or slanderous comments made orally, you should contact a solicitor to discuss a possible claim. Contact Wilson Nesbitt solicitors for advice and information by calling 028 9032 3864.


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