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ARTICLE · 12 MAY 2023

Defamatory Facebook Posts Can Be Costly

Gardiner Roberts LLP
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Courts have recognized that defamatory statements published on social media or other forms of internet communication may lead to higher general damages awards than for defamatory statements...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
James R.G. Cook
James R.G. Cook
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Courts have recognized that defamatory statements published on social media or other forms of internet communication may lead to higher general damages awards than for defamatory statements published in a different medium. Once something is made available on the internet it may be available forever. The internet provides world-wide instantaneous access to any statement that is published on a public platform and it is difficult to remove such statements from the internet or control how they are disseminated. In addition, it is difficult to determine how many people have viewed, downloaded, or shared a defamatory statement published on the internet.

In Seafarers' International Union of Canada v. Mitchelitis, 2023 ONSC 2456 (CanLII), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice addressed the assessment of damages for defamatory Facebook postings.

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