With many of us working from home, we are increasingly relying
on technology, including social media, to keep us connected. It is
easy to forget that the increased use of social media (and the
publication it relies on) exposes us to a greater risk of
defamation claims (and potentially increases the damages flowing
from those claims given the ease of widespread publication). It is
also particularly topical given the NSW Court of Appeal's
confirmation of the Voller decision1, and the
implications that has for companies who have social media
pages.
This article sets out a high-level overview of the operation of
defamation law by reference to recent Australian social media
cases. This first page-spread addresses the elements of a
defamation claim – a defamatory imputation, which is
published to a third party, and which is about the plaintiff. The
second page of this article details some of the key decisions
around damages (assuming no defence is made out, noting
