Updating the Web Libel Laws
I try to be pretty careful about what I put on this blog. After all my late wife was a barrister, who had done her first pupilage in defamation chambers, so she knew a bit. And she warned me about what I put on the web.
But some of the laws on libel such as the “multiple publication rule” date from the 1850s or so and the government has launched a consultation on updating them. After all they were created before radio and television, let alone the Internet.
Among its suggestions are that the law could be replaced with a “single publication rule”, which would allow just a single court action against defamatory material, to prevent “open-ended liability”.
It discusses changing the limitation period for claims, such as extending it to three years after an article is published.
Publishers of online archives and blogs might also be given a defence of qualified privilege – that a piece is fair and accurate and published without malice – against an offending article after a year time limit has expired.
This is all to be welcomed. After all the libel laws were created to right wrong and bring justice. Now, it sometimes seems that some powerful individuals and companies are using the laws as a means to gag critics. That was not their original intention. Look at some of the scandals recently reported in the news and twin the name with libel and search Google. It is interesting research.
My late wife had two important points on defamation.
I’ve indicated one in that she said be very careful about what you publish.
But also she said that you should never sue for it. Often you may feel that something nasty is being said about you in the papers. If you as a small individual challenge a large newspaper or company, you will rarely get redress. If say like one of her divorce clients, who wrongly featured on the front page of a tabloid, the best you can expect is an apology at the bottom of page eleven.
So be brave and turn the other cheek!
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The Anonymous Widower 
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