It’s gospel for First Amendment advocates that lawsuits against news organizations chill freedom of the press. But in an era of rampant misinformation, such legal actions may be more accepted.
Porter claims even though he wasn’t named in the ABC article, he was easily identifiable to many Australians. For the ABC, the defences to defamation are notoriously difficult to establish.
The media treated the rape allegation against Porter as a political story and watched it play out in the political process — without identifying the attorney-general.
In 1886, a Victorian judge deplored the disregard given to women’s rights in cases of sexual slander. Today, women are still fighting to protect their reputations and tell their stories.
The NSW Court of Appeal’s Dylan Voller decision means the media may be liable for the hurtful things users write on social pages. This will have many media companies in a panic.
The Australian Press Council’s ruling suggests an exemption for ‘entertainment magazines’ from the standard of factual reporting. This ruling has no basis in Australian defamation law.
Defamation law reform is on the horizon. Social media companies may be held more liable for what they publish. But this could come at the expense of everyday users.
Australia’s latest defamation ruling has made Facebook publishing a minefield, but there are strategies to ensure better social media outcomes for everyone.
Journalists are not happy about a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales finding that media companies could be liable for defamatory comments made under news stories on their Facebook pages.
Amid all the Mueller report uncertainty, one thing is clear: Donald Trump did some wildly improper things to win the presidency. So did Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, JFK and George W. Bush.
The judgement is a personal and legal vindication for the actor, but it may have unintended side effects for the #MeToo movement and the reporting of sexual harassment allegations.