Internet Defamation & the Defence of Responsible Journalism: Protecting Professionals and Amateurs Alike?

This paper looks at issues related to defamation on the Internet.

It begins with a review of basic internet issues, such as the factors a plaintiff must establish and available defences. In this section, the authors consider the relatively new defence of responsible journalism, considered for the first time by the Supreme Court of Canada in February of this year. The second section looks at issues that are unique to defamation on the Internet. These include determining which court should take jurisdiction, and ISP liability. The third section looks at Citizen Journalism on the Internet, sites in which members of the public contribute to news stories along with reporters. In the final section, the authors look at whether the defence of responsible journalism (assuming it is endorsed by the Supreme Court of Canada) should be available for citizen journalists.

This paper, written by David Wotherspoon and Lindsey Taylor, was originally presented at the Federated Press conference titled Internet Law in Vancouver, on April 29 and 30, 2009.