ABSTRACT
The recent ruling by the High Court of Australia (HCA) in Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Voller [2021] HCA 27 has significant implications for defamation in digital platforms. The case involved an appeal by three media outlets (defendant-appellants) against a decision from the New South Wales (NSW) Court of Appeal (Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Voller (2020) 380 ALR 700) focusing on media liability for third-party comments on public Facebook pages. The HCA rejected the appellants’ argument that they are not liable for defamatory posts on their controlled pages due to lack of intent.
This analysis aims to explore the significance of the HCA’s decision, particularly its impacts on defamation law in the digital age, especially concerning social media. It also aims to guide future research on Australian defamation law, akin to English common law, and Australia’s judicial stance on social media defamation. Through examining this case, we aim to reveal its broader implications and its role in shaping digital defamation jurisprudence.
Kamal Ahamed, Vaithulla, Navigating Social Media Defamation: Exploring Liability for Third-Party Publications in the Digital Age (the Case of Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Voller) (April 24, 2024), (2024) 1 Sri Lanka Journal of Information and Communications Technology 103.
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