"Venting" On Facebook Leads To $65,000 Defamation Judgment And Liability For 3rd Party Comments

Introduction

Given the increasingly ubiquitous nature of social media platforms and their increasing role as the communication methods of choice for many, it is perhaps unsurprising that some of the more interesting developments in the law of defamation are emerging from this space.

The B.C. Supreme Court's recent decision in Pritchard v. Van Nes (2016 BCSC 686) serves not only as a reminder that a poster of defamatory comments on social media can be held liable for the damage caused by those comments, but also as an indication that courts are prepared to hold them liable for the damage caused by further sharing or republication of those comments, as well as for the damage cause by additional defamatory comments made by third parties who post in response thereto. The rapid integration of social media into many facets of daily life as well as its ability to generate discourse in a "viral" manner, necessitate a corresponding increase in attention to the manner