DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS ON INTERNET

Defamatory Statements On Internet

Defamatory Statements On Internet

Introduction

Reputation is a jus in rem, a right absolute and against the world and a person's reputation is his/ her property. Thus, no one can defame a person i.e. use his freedom of speech or expression so as to injure another's reputation. The essence of defamation is its tendency to cause that description of pain which is felt by a person who knows himself to be the object of the unfavorable sentiments of his fellow- mates and those inconveniences to which a person who is the object of such unfavorable sentiments is exposed. In general, there are four requirements for liability for defamation to arise. A false and defamatory statement must be made about another's reputation or business. What is necessary in a case of defamation is that the statement made is understood by others to be “of or concerning” the plaintiff. If the individual who is the subject of defamation is deceased, no cause of action lies for defamation.

Discussion

The publication should be made out to a third party. Generally, there is no liability if the defendant did not intend the publication to be viewed by anyone other than the plaintiff. However, most defamatory material on the internet is accessible to millions worldwide. Therefore, it is unlikely that a defendant would be able to argue that he or she did not intend that others should view the statements. The plaintiff must establish some extent of fault or negligence on the part of the defendant in publishing the statements. Thus, a plaintiff who is a public figure will have to show that the statements were made out of malice. The burden of proof is less demanding in case of a private individual. The statements must result in actual or presumed damage. The permanent nature of libel coupled with the ability to distribute it widely especially through the internet have led courts to allow for recovering damages for libel without actually proving damage caused.

The criminal law in India with regard to defamation depends on the construction of S. 499 and S.500. In India, it does not matter whether the words were publishes or they were uttered, or heard by people, as long as those defamatory words were intended to harm the reputation of another person.

Thus, a defamatory statement is one which would tend to lower the reputation of the claimant in the eyes of right-thinking members of society and which would result in the shunning or avoidance of the claimant by society. Defamation, traditionally, may either be a slander or a libel. A slanderous statement is that which is issued verbally, or not produced in permanent form. If the statement is published in a permanent form, it becomes a libel. Going by the traditional definitions of libel and slander, an electronically disseminated defamatory statement would generally amount to libel. The electronic data is content committed to the host computer and resides on the same until ...