The Law of Defamation and the Internet

The second edition of The Law of Defamation and the Internet will be available from October 2005.

Click here to read the preface to the second edition.

Acclaim for the first edition:

A new, important and pioneering work on the law of defamation.

- Lord Bingham of Cornhill

A long overdue, authoritative book which is the first of its kind devoted entirely to the subject of internet defamation from the perspective of English law.

- Legal Week

The treatment is as thorough as it is comprehensive… Practitioners – and anyone else connected with the Internet, for that matter – will find this book very helpful indeed.

- Journal of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association

A timely effort to identify and examine key legal issues concerning defamation via the Internet from an international and comparative perspective … a unique addition to the sorely needed literature on international and comparative law of defamation.

- Journal and Mass Communication Quarterly

An essential text for both defamation law and IT law practitioners.

- CTLR: The Journal of E-Commerce, Technology and Communications

No marksman aiming at a moving target had a more tricky task than Dr Collins in writing his pioneering book on this important subject… Dr Collins’ methods seem admirable, and his comprehensive treatment of the subject is commended.

- Media Lawyer

Major Developments Archive

The following links are to updates posted for the first edition of The Law of Defamation and the Internet (2001).

For more current analysis of the law relating to defamation via the Internet, consult the second edition.

Update 1

Barrett v Clark (Alameda County Superior Court, California, 25 July 2001)

American decision concerning the application of s 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act

Update 2

Gutnick v Dow Jones & Co Inc [2001] VSC 305 (28 August 2001)

Australian decision concerning the place of publication of Internet material and the application of forum non conveniens principles

Stop press … High Court grants limited leave to appeal to Dow Jones

Stop press … High Court delivers judgment on 10 December 2002 … see update 8

Update 3

Loutchansky v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ 1805 (5 December 2001)

English Court of Appeal decision concerning, among other matters, the proper construction of s 4A of the Limitation Act 1980 (UK) in the context of Internet publications, and the need to attach warnings to online publications which are the subject of defamation proceedings

Update 4

European Parliament and Council’s Directive on Electronic Commerce (Directive 2000/31/EC)

Update on the UK government’s plans for implementation of the Directive on Electronic Commerce, which affects the liability of Internet intermediaries for hosting or carrying defamatory material

Stop press … Draft Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 released

Stop press … Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, SI 2013/2002 promulgated

Update 5

Mickelberg v 6PR Southern Cross Radio Pty Ltd [2001] WASC 150 (15 June 2001)

Australian decision concerning whether the publication of a radio interview via the Internet is deemed to be libel by s 206 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth)

Update 6

Yahoo!, Inc v LICRA, decision of Judge Fogel (7 November 2001)

A French court decision requiring an American defendant to prevent certain material from being accessible via the Internet in France is held to be unenforceable in the United States

Update 7

Regie National des Usines Renault SA v Zhang [2002] HCA 10 (High Court of Australia, 14 March 2002)

Australian High Court decision abolishing the double actionability test for choice of law in cases involving foreign torts

Update 8

Dow Jones & Company Inc v Gutnick [2002] HCA 56 (10 December 2002)

Australian High Court decision concerning the place of publication of Internet material and jurisdiction in Internet defamation cases

Update 9

Jurisdiction, Defamation and the Internet - recent developments in Australia and the United States

15,000 article concerning jurisdiction over foreign online conduct. Analyses the implications of the decision of the Australian High Court in Dow Jones & Company Inc v Gutnick and discusses the position concerning jurisdiction over foreign online conduct in countries including the United Kingdom and the United States

Update 10

Bahlieda v Santa, ONSC 02-0017 (2 April 2003)

Canadian decision concerning whether placing material on a website constitutes a ‘broadcast’ for the purposes of the Libel and Slander Act 1980 (Ontario)

Update 11

Totalise plc v Motley Fool Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ 1897 (19 December 2001)

English Court of Appeal decision concerning an application to uncover the anonymous author of allegedly defamatory online postings

Update 12

Harrods Ltd v Dow Jones & Company Inc [2003] EWHC 1162 (QB) (22 May 2003)

English decision permitting an English claimant to maintain a defamation action against an American defendant

Last updated 11 September 2005