Twitter defamation (libel)

The law of defamation (libel law) is being required to keep pace with the rapid strides in technology; Facebook and Twitter legal actions are realities in our aggressive ambition towards immediacy in communication. If you are wondering what the difference between libel, slander and defamation is, look here.
In the United Kingdom, false allegations of child abuse by the BBC against conservative leader Lord McAlpine resulted in a libel matter being settled out of court. The corporate entity is not alone, as several others including popular celebrity personalities, are being targeted for comments made or forwarded on Twitter about Lord McAlpine.
An amount of 185 000 pounds (plus legal costs) was agreed upon as reasonable damages. Further, ITV and its presenter Philip Schoefield “apologise[d] unreservedly” for similar pedophilia allegations and agreed to 125 000 pounds in damages. The BBC, to its credit, responded as follows: “The settlement is comprehensive and reflects the gravity of the allegations that were wrongly made”.  These sorts of settlements (amounts) and actions are not out of the norm given increasing social media litigation and labour law disputes. 
What is out of the ordinary in terms of online defamation and libel as it stands, is that Lord McAlpine is seeking to settle with or sue any other entity or individual that tweeted about the issue in a defamatory manner on the social media platform Twitter, regardless of the amount of actions he may need to pursue. He said this after reaching settlement with the BBC; “We will now be continuing to seek settlements from other organisations that have published defamatory remarks and individuals who have used Twitter to defame me.” As an aside, Lord McAlpine has agreed to donate all damages money to the BBC children in need foundation. 
So what is this all about? Here is a snapshot: A BBC Newsnight broadcast discussed the emotive and disturbing issue of child abuse. It specifically focused its report on child abuse occurring in care facilities in the north Wales region. It’s a discussion that gets people talking, particularly in the heat of the moment on social media platforms.  It caused an outcry on Twitter and although the BBC did not directly name Lord McAlpine as a pedophile, he was “identified” on Twitter as the “offender” (and I use these terms loosely).  Various comments were tweeted and retweeted when, from what I understand, it appears no attempts were made to understand the truthfulness (and potential harmfulness) of the allegations made. There are allegedly 1000 libelous tweets (posts) and 9000 retweets (forwards).
There have been calls for twitter users to come forward and settle.  The matter has been referred to as a “lapse of journalism” by the BBC and resulted in several resignations, an independent enquiry and an in-house enquiry at the media giant.  Not a good time to be a boardroom member of the Beeb…
A screen shot of the search term “Lord McAlpine” on Sunday November 25 still shows a defamatory comment (partially obscured) below:


twitter defamation damages


In any event as pointed out earlier, there is no anonymity on the internet.  Typically, in the law of defamation in social media, in situations like this, the “main offender” or several persons with the largest Twitter followings would be successfully sued, reputation would be restored and the matter would end.  This does not mean that the legal right or legal remedy ends there.  Lord McAlpine is seeking to show that the law of defamation has a wide reach. As pointed out by top UK media lawyer Niri Shan, this matter will not necessarily result in a change of libel laws, but it will ensure that social media users become more aware of potential ramifications.

Getting back to the Lord McAlpine and this celebrity version of a series of defamation (libel) cases, briefly, if order to successfully bring a defamation claim in this context, Lord McAlpine would need to show that Twitter users published (tweeted or retweeted) defamatory matter (sexual abuse allegations) relating to him.  No rocket science needed here, on the face of it, and without all of the necessary facts, there is a case in libel law. What defenses can the shocked twitter user rely on? Typically, defenses in this arena are:

  • Truth of the allegation
  • Fair comment
  • Satire
  • Public interest
  • Public domain 

Further traditional defamation or libel defenses such as privilege, in this context, would not be applicable.  What about innocent dissemination? That’s the thing with defamation, once you have published defamatory matter relating to the Plaintiff, you are presumed to have the requisite wrongfulness so the onus will be on YOU to show otherwise.  Normally in law the onus or responsibility is on the person who brings the claim to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt – following the innocent until proven guilty rationale.  In defamation law, this is switched around once an individual can show a tweet was defamatory and had applicable reference. Then, it is presumed that this is wrongful and the plaintiff must show otherwise.
In the immediacy of the internet, particularly in the heat of the moment, the defamation bar is quite high. If right-minded members of our society think that your tweet lowers the reputation of the person you made the comment about, you could be in trouble.
So, while the law of defamation or libel law is not strictly speaking changing, what is changing is the potential risk for liability given the immediacy in publishing the internet gives most of us.  This risk is dynamic and moves with the internet. The manner in which we think about twitter and other social media platforms has probably got to change, or at least adapt slightly.  Twitter is not a braai (barbeque) on a Saturday afternoon. Think twice before indulging.

19 thoughts on “Twitter defamation (libel)”

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