80 percent of Australians are social media users – Yet while platforms like Facebook, Insta and twitter may indeed connect and inform us – enabling us to share content and comments about content – it is also a place for offensive commentary.
We’ve all seen or been victims of hurtful, defamatory troll comments – often by anonymous users.
What do we mean by defamatory? Anything that could injure a person’s reputation can be defamatory. So, if a comment on Facebook brings a person into contempt, disrepute or ridicule, that maybe considered defamatory – and has legal ramifications.
But who is liable for defamatory comments?
Last week, in a landmark case, the high court ruled that media outlets are legally responsible as the “publishers” of user comments on their Facebook pages.
And this decision could have far-reaching consequences for social media users throughout Australia.
In essence anyone who runs a social media page can hypothetically be sued over derogatory comments — even if you aren’t aware of the comment…
To discuss this I’m joined by Dr David Rolph – Professor of Law, University of Sydney.