Can Defamation occur online?

It is estimated that the average Australian now spends approximately 8 hours a week on facebook. Other social networking sites like twitter, myspace, youtube and their associated instant messaging services are now a very important way that many people communicate on a daily basis. As with any form of communication, it can be used to communicate any type of human thought, feeling or emotion and not all of these are pleasant. It is now very common for people to have a falling out with other and this to result in an online campaign of message posting, photo posting and publication of other forms of media which can be used to defame someone else in an online medium.

In Australia, the case law was decided some time ago which said that defamation could clearly occur online in the way that ordinary defamation in speech, newspaper, television or radio could occur. The key case which originally expounded this principle was Dow Jones and Company Inc v Gutnick [2002] HCA 56. In this case the court decided that it did have jurisdiction to hear a matter where the defamatory material had been downloaded from the USA to a computer in Victoria and the the publications were indeed defamatory.

How can the legal system help me with defamation?

If you think that you may have been defamed, we have specialist defamation lawyers available to assist you with the process of obtaining a good outcome. You may be entitled to received damages as compensation for your loss of reputation or you may be entitle to an order that the person defaming remove the materials that they have published online and even in some cases publish a retraction or an apology. An order like this in legal jargon is known as the remedy of specific performance. If someone is about to publish something is likely to defame you, you may also be able to apply for an injunction to prevent publication in the first place. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you think you may have a case of online defamation.