PR Log - May 17, 2012 - In the Queen’s Speech last week the Government announced details of the Defamation Bill that will come before parliament in the next session. Libel laws are set to undergo huge changes, described as the most significant in nearly 170 years. The effect is likely to rebalance the law away from protection of reputation and towards freedom of expression. Concern has been raised by some legal experts that the Defamation Bill will significantly limit the ability of both individuals and companies to obtain legal redress in cases of libel.
Currently the libel courts decide whether a statement causes damage to the individual or company. However, the Bill will introduce a new test for claimants to prove ‘serious harm’ at the outset before being allowed to bring a libel case before the courts.
Experts such as the Law Society have expressed ‘deep reservations’ about the change, arguing that it will ‘create an unreasonably high threshold to overcome at a very early stage’. Therefore it ‘…is likely to inhibit many people trying to validly protect their reputation from doing so.’
The Society commented that changes introduced by the Defamation Bill could mean that ‘ordinary people, small businesses and charities may simply not be able to afford to protect their reputation if this provision becomes law.’
The Defamation Bill also provides protection to scientists when commenting on the products of medical manufacturers, when published in peer-reviewed media. The intention is to avoid discouraging scientists from proper scientific enquiry.
Whilst it is true to a scientist can provide an opinion with far less risk of being sued, it is also true that a business has to demonstrate serious harm. There are considerable doubts whether many businesses, particularly SMEs, will have the financial resources to do so.
The legislation also deals with online message posts and comments and protects website owners even in cases where readers’ comments or posts are later proven to be libelous. If a site operator, such as Twitter or Facebook, can show that they have complied with a procedure to ‘resolve any dispute’ directly with an author, they will be protected from legal action regarding any posts or messages by users.
The area of online comment is becoming increasingly significant in the field of libel in the UK. The number of libel cases arising from comments on blogs or social media doubled from 7 to 16 last year. Well-known examples included the case brought by New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns over comments posted on Twitter by former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi.
Interestingly, the profile of claimants is changing and defamation cases are increasingly being brought by businesses rather than by celebrities. Cases involving celebrities decreased from 22 in 2009/10 to 9 in 2010/11, while conversely those lodged by businesses increased from 5 to 16 cases between 2009/10 and 2010/11.
Commenting on the Defamation Bill, Nathan Barker, the MD of leading online reputation management firm, Reputation 24/7 said, "This change in law has put reputation management very much in the spotlight. Not only does it make it harder to pursue people through court but has the luxury of being able to operate in all legal jurisdictions”.
Reputation 24/7 is an award-winning online reputation management company that specialises in helping individuals and companies to protect their online reputation. For additional information on protecting one’s online reputation please contact Reputation 24/7 on: 0843 64 50 247.
http://www.reputation247.com
Read Full Story - The Governments new Defamation Bill provides strong protection for authors and publishers but... | More news from this source
Press release distribution by PRLog
Currently the libel courts decide whether a statement causes damage to the individual or company. However, the Bill will introduce a new test for claimants to prove ‘serious harm’ at the outset before being allowed to bring a libel case before the courts.
Experts such as the Law Society have expressed ‘deep reservations’ about the change, arguing that it will ‘create an unreasonably high threshold to overcome at a very early stage’. Therefore it ‘…is likely to inhibit many people trying to validly protect their reputation from doing so.’
The Society commented that changes introduced by the Defamation Bill could mean that ‘ordinary people, small businesses and charities may simply not be able to afford to protect their reputation if this provision becomes law.’
The Defamation Bill also provides protection to scientists when commenting on the products of medical manufacturers, when published in peer-reviewed media. The intention is to avoid discouraging scientists from proper scientific enquiry.
Whilst it is true to a scientist can provide an opinion with far less risk of being sued, it is also true that a business has to demonstrate serious harm. There are considerable doubts whether many businesses, particularly SMEs, will have the financial resources to do so.
The legislation also deals with online message posts and comments and protects website owners even in cases where readers’ comments or posts are later proven to be libelous. If a site operator, such as Twitter or Facebook, can show that they have complied with a procedure to ‘resolve any dispute’ directly with an author, they will be protected from legal action regarding any posts or messages by users.
The area of online comment is becoming increasingly significant in the field of libel in the UK. The number of libel cases arising from comments on blogs or social media doubled from 7 to 16 last year. Well-known examples included the case brought by New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns over comments posted on Twitter by former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi.
Interestingly, the profile of claimants is changing and defamation cases are increasingly being brought by businesses rather than by celebrities. Cases involving celebrities decreased from 22 in 2009/10 to 9 in 2010/11, while conversely those lodged by businesses increased from 5 to 16 cases between 2009/10 and 2010/11.
Commenting on the Defamation Bill, Nathan Barker, the MD of leading online reputation management firm, Reputation 24/7 said, "This change in law has put reputation management very much in the spotlight. Not only does it make it harder to pursue people through court but has the luxury of being able to operate in all legal jurisdictions”.
Reputation 24/7 is an award-winning online reputation management company that specialises in helping individuals and companies to protect their online reputation. For additional information on protecting one’s online reputation please contact Reputation 24/7 on: 0843 64 50 247.
http://www.reputation247.com
Read Full Story - The Governments new Defamation Bill provides strong protection for authors and publishers but... | More news from this source
Press release distribution by PRLog
