In the second in our series on tort and computer law Simon Halberstam and Joanne Brook examine the tort of defamation and the internet. Given its background as a forum for free speech and the dissemination of ideas it is not surprising that, now e-mail is in the commercial mainstream, its transfer to that forum has produced certain problems. The problem centres on the fact that when sending Emails, many users feel free to express opinions they would not commit to paper when writing a business letter or talking to a group of colleagues. As a result of this, users often make imprudent statements. In defamation it is at this stage that an offence occurs.
Defamation takes two forms, libel and slander.
Slander is speech or gestures of a defamatory nature. A person who is defamed may feel understandably aggrieved and may decide to take action to prevent circulation of the statement. Normally, the person would approach the publisher or the author. The problem with the WWW is that the identity of this entity is often far from obvious. CompuServe were sued in respect of a message appearing in a local newsgroup.