Six figure damages award for Twitter defamation

If you use social media, you might want to read this.

How much damage can you do in 140 characters?

A lot, it turns out.

According to the NSW District Court, about $105,000. That's $750 per character, if you use all 140 of them. In an Australian first, a NSW school teacher has just been awarded $105,000 in damages for defamation for comments published about her on Twitter.

The award included $85,000 in compensatory damages. The maximum available under defamation legislation is around $350,000. On top of that was a further $20,000 in aggravated damages; largely on account of the defendant offering an unreserved apology, then defending the case and arguing a truth defence for comments that were entirely unsubstantiated.