Speech Torts

How to Avoid Being Sued for What You Put on the Internet FERGUS O'ROURKE Barrister-at-law www.twitter.com/ubfid www.irish-lawyer.com (Not just law stuff)

In Your Dreams ... People should be allowed to say what they like about whoever they like, whether or not they can prove it, and whether or not they're right. ( Bryan Caplan ) Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me ( Anon .)

Reality is Different
A word once uttered can never be recalled.( Horace )
A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.( Benjamin Franklin)

Speech Torts
Defamation (slander+libel)
Injurious falsehood
Miscellaneous e.g . interference with contractual relationships

Defamation
“ defamatory statement” means a statement that tends to injure a person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society
(Defamation Act 2009)

Injurious Falsehood
... involves the making of statements which are untrue...[and]... the falsehood causes harm; harm of a kind which is intended, or, of a kind which is the natural and probable consequence of the making of the false statements.

Bad News
It is impossible to guarantee to you that you will avoid
ever being sued for internet defamation

Worse News
There is no way to guarantee that you can avoid
litigation of any kind

Good News 1
You can drastically reduce your risks by
… avoiding malice
... never speaking ill
… pausing before publishing
... only asserting what you can prove
… even better, stating opinion not claiming fact
This is, to some extent, a counsel of perfection i.e. you’d have to be perfect to bring it off

Good News 2
Even if you err, it need not be a disaster:
Withdraw
Apologise

Third-Party Statements
Counsel of Perfection: don't ever publish !
Get your own advice if it's a “biggie” for you
Otherwise, take “reasonable care”
Be sure you have “no reason to believe” it's tortious

Summary
Whereof o ne cannot speak, thereof one must be silent ( Ludwig Wittgenstein )
"Honey, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
Awareness is more than half the battle
Be good :-)
Do you want to get sued? I didn't think so

Some Sources
Defamation Act, 2009
http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2009/a3109.pdf
Eoin O'Dell
http://www.cearta.ie/
Adrianos Facchetti http://www.defamationlawblog.com/
Evan Brown
http://blog.internetcases.com/

Speech Torts

by Barcamp Cork on Nov 18, 2009

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