Another point of discussion at C&binet conference ‘09 was the law. There was general consensus libel laws in the UK need to be changed to accommodate for the migration of news online and to make sure the law is clear. On a board of suggestions as to what the government should do to encourage hyperlocal, one post-it note read: “Get rid of draconian libel laws”.  There are two main issues regarding libel and the internet - the law is unclear, which makes citizens uneasy about publishing online, and secondly the law is too strict and should look more like our American counterpart. 

One of the hazy areas in the British law is regarding defamatory remarks made in comments on an article. It is accepted if the comments are post-moderated and the publisher has not seen the comment they are not liable, providing when they are notified they remove the comment.

Another grey area is deciding which websites constitute ‘publishers’ because there is a defence if you can prove you are simply a platform for a forum.

There’s also the part of the law (from 1849) which still says every new publication of a defamatory comment (every click, copy paste, link) acts as a new act of libel. Combined with the nature of the internet means you can sue a publication from anywhere in the world in this country, attracting so-called ‘libel tourists’ come to London to sue, although California recently ruled against such practises.

Here’s an extract on US Libel law concerning the internet on wikipedia:

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 generally immunizes from liability parties that create forums on the Internet in which defamation occurs from liability for statements published by third parties. This has the effect of precluding all liability for statements made by persons on the Internet whose identity cannot be determined.

Basically libel laws in the US don’t apply to anonymous comments on blogposts. UK publishers online want “immunity for defamation arising from comments”, “widening the Freedom of Information Act to apply to organisations who receive public money above a certain amount” and making libel laws clear for internet users.