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ARTICLE · 03 APRIL 2012

Liable For Libel On The Internet? You Bet!

Field Law
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In 2009, according to an Angus Reid survey, fully one in four Canadians believed they could not be held legally accountable for what they post online.

CanadaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Daniel Carroll, K.C
Daniel Carroll, K.C
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In 2009, according to an Angus Reid survey, fully one in four Canadians believed they could not be held legally accountable for what they post online.

They were – and still are – wrong.

Newspaper or blog, TV or Twitter, book or Facebook – it matters not. Posting is publishing and publishing is one of the elements of libel, also called defamation.

What even fewer people know is that they can be held accountable for online postings in a criminal prosecution as well as in a civil action.

Civil Action

Defamation is the remedy for damages that is available to a plaintiff who brings a civil lawsuit for damages. Like many other freedoms, freedom of speech stops prima facie when it causes injury to others.

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