Noticed this in 'Commercial Law Briefing' and thought it may be of
interest, as I hadn't heard anything about it:
'In the first English ruling on Internet libel, the High Court has held an
Internet service provider liable for libellous material which it carried
on its systems. In 'Laurence Godfrey v Demon Internet Ltd, 29 March 1999'
a university lecturer claimed that defamatory remarks were held on an
Internet newsgroup run by Demon and that Demon did not remove the
information upon request. The Court held that Demon could not rely on the
defence at common law that it had not published the defamatory statement
nor on a defence available under the Defamation Act 1996 because, whilst
it was not the author, editor or publisher of the statement, it had not
taken reasonable care in relation to the publication when it was notified
of its defamatory nature. Demon has been granted leave to appeal the
decision.'
It didn't say exactly what action Demon had taken so it's hard to judge
whether how far this could apply to an institution - but they do have an
AUP and guidelines for use like any reputable organisation.
Comments?
Kriss
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