Defamation and Libel on Twitter

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One part of my university course that has really grabbed my interest was when we studied the legal and ethical aspects of journalism, in particular, defamation and libel. Having never studied this side to journalism before, I was shocked by how common it is for people to be sued for publishing harmful information about another person, especially on social media sites like Twitter.

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, thanks to the rise of digitalisation, pretty much anyone can call themselves a journalist; it doesn't matter if you write for a traditional media source, a blog, a microblog or even just a social media site.  However, after learning more about the legalities of journalism, it has become apparent that social media users who only use the sites for personal use, sit under the exact same set of legal guidelines as larger news corporations or publications.  They are also just as liable to be sued if they are caught publishing harmful material.

The Twitter guidelines state: "A tweet is potentially libellous in England and Wales if it damages someone's reputation in the estimation of right thinking members of society...it can do this by exposing them to hatred, ridicule or contempt".  It is interesting that a libellous tweet is a civil offence, so although you won't be jailed, you will be faced with a "large damages bill".  Surprisingly, these rules also apply to re-tweets.

During my time on Twitter, I have seen tweets from friends, colleagues or acquaintances that have contained potentially defamatory content.  They posted these tweets without the intent to harm and of course unknowing to the fact they are against the law, however this highlights that social media users need to have more grasp of what they can and can't post.  Should more people know about the consequences, this would help them to avoid exposing themselves to potentially libellous action.

Interestingly, the laws covering libel and defamation have been in place in Great Britain since the 17th Century, but since the emergence of the internet and rise of social media, it has meant new guidelines have had to be implemented.

In an interview for MacunianMatters.co.uk, Jeremy Clarke-Williams, head of defamation and privacy law at Slater and Gordon, explained the dangers for ordinary Twitter users, "ordinary Twitter users now need to understand that what they say on social media could form the basis of a defamation action.

"Last year, research showed a 23% rise in the number of defamation cases in the UK...part of that growth was due to social media and websites".

Many well-known defamation cases are bought to light because the people involved are in the public eye, however ordinary Twitter (and general social media) users need to grasp the understanding that they too are just as susceptible to potential libellous action if they tweet, or retweet, harmful information about another person to their profiles.