Defamation On The Inter-Office Electronic Bulletin Board: Is The Employer Responsible?

By Scott Little

Published 4/1/00

It is common for employers to set up an electronic bulletin board for their employees to share ideas over the corporate computer network. Typically, employers do not edit or control the content of employee messages to one another or employee messages sent externally via e-mail. This laissez-faire approach is a function of the economic and physical reality that there is simply too much electronic traffic to monitor and control all employee communications.

However, employers can control exchanges of information over their networks by participating in a discussion group, responding to employee feedback, or removing defamatory messages when they become aware of such information. When this type of control is exercised, an employer might be held responsible, as a distributor or librarian of a defamatory statement.