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.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young leaves the Federal Court in May, 2019.
AAP Image/Joel Carrett
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.
These reforms are a big win for the media industry.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
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.
In some ways, this case just adapts the old authorities on publication to a modern situation.
Shutterstock
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.
The Mueller report reveals that Trump and his campaign did all kinds of ethically questionable activities to smear Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, including asking Russia to hack Clinton’s email. According to Attorney General William Barr, nothing Trump did was illegal.
Reuters/David Becker
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.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s threat of a defamation suit against Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is just the latest example of a political fight that’s turned litigious.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Politicians threatening to sue each other is not unusual in Canada, but the lawsuits seldom make it to court.
In handing Geoffrey Rush a victory in his defamation case against The Daily Telegraph, the judge said the actor’s reputation was harmed by a “recklessly irresponsible piece of sensational journalism.”
Dylan Coker/AAP
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.