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ARTICLE · 12 NOVEMBER 2015

What potential liability of Google for defamation means, when protecting your reputation

Corrs Chambers Westgarth
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Google is only liable for defamation where it is notified about defamatory search results, so remain vigilant on watch.

AustraliaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Richard Leder
Richard Leder
Duncan Marckwald
Duncan Marckwald
Viva Paxton
Viva Paxton
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A Google search may define your reputation. However, Google is only liable for defamation where it is notified about defamatory search results. So you have to remain vigilant about watching what's out there.

In the recent South Australian Supreme Court decision of Duffy v Google,1 Google was found to have published defamatory comments by its search results and auto-complete search suggestions.

This "watershed" decision confirms the on line application of the traditional concept of who, and in what circumstances someone is a publisher of defamatory material. Critical to the decision was that Ms Duffy, accused of being a "psychic stalker" on various websites, had alerted Google to the material and requested Google to remove it from its results.

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