Web Wise

Defamation on the Internet

Before the Internet came along, defamation wasn't something that the average person had to worry about committing. But with the structure of the Internet, making public statements is easier than it has ever been. Journalists are taught about defamatory language and its consequences, but does the average Internet user understand what constitutes a libelous remark?

Defamation
Defamation consists of the related torts of libel (written statements) or slander (oral statements), which involve a false statement tending to injure the reputation of another. We briefly touched on this in the November 1997 column, Legal Aspects of the Internet.

The Internet is informal and instantaneous, and has numerous outlets for publicly expressing opinions. These characteristics allow users to make defamatory remarks that they may otherwise be incapable of making. Bulletin boards, mailing lists, forums, newsgroups, and even e-mail are subject to the laws of defamation.

You can be sued for libel if another person can prove that you have distributed defamatory statements about them in a public area. The statements need not be distributed to a large group of people, even if one person aside from the plaintiff and defendant sees the defamatory statement it can be considered libel.

Any statements that may damage a reputation or name with false information are considered libelous remarks. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff to prove that the statements in question are false. The defendant does not need to prove that the remarks are true.

Libelous remarks
Let's say that you receive a shipment from your parts supplier and numerous items appear to be missing. You are so mad that you immediately go and post a negative remark on a Web bulletin board. You write that the company in question is incompetent and can't be trusted to ship orders correctly.

A few hours later you realize that this is only the first of two shipments, and there is a letter notifying you to expect another shipment with the rest of the items. Now you've posted an inaccurate message on a public bulletin board that will definitely not be good publicity for the company. If the company decides to pursue legal action, it will be easy for them to prove that your statement is false and defamatory. The best thing to do in this case might be to post another message and admit your error.

Communicating on the Net
Sharing your opinions and communicating with others over the Internet is a fun thing to do, so obviously you shouldn't stop! You just need to think about what you're writing and realize the consequences of defamation.

Sometimes it's easy to write a defamatory statement when you are angry about something that has just happened. However, before you hit the send or submit button on your next e-mail or posting, read over what you've written and make sure that you aren't using offensive language or statements that you know to be false.

If you are writing about something controversial, be sure to preface the thought with, "I think ..." or "In my opinion ..." These phrases may not totally absolve blame, but at least readers will know it is an opinion and not a proven fact.

Most companies are probably not going to pursue legal action over defamatory remarks made on the Internet. They may respond with the facts or they may dismiss the comments as lacking credibility. Nevertheless, carelessly publicized opinions not only damage the subject's reputation, but also the integrity of the writer.

Basically, the bottom line is that you are publishing what you write when you put in on the Internet. So write your messages with care, as though they are going to appear in your local newspaper. Just because it's easy to convey your opinions on the Internet with a certain realm of anonymity, it doesn't mean that you don't have to be responsible for your statements. The laws of defamation work the same way for each medium.

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