Internet Defamation: Using the Right Solicitor
Defamation has existed for centuries in a variety of guises, but with reputations now being damaged on the internet, it has never been more important for those who wrongfully suffer defamation to choose solicitors with experience in this newly-developing and unprecedented territory. Not only this, but the role of PR has had to evolve to ensure that an apology can be sought in a timely manner, limiting the damage that someone else's recklessness can have on your livelihood.
By choosing the right solicitor, positive steps can be taken to resolve the unfair publications and submissions directed towards you or your business online. Not only this, but by making the decision to seek legal action you could enforce changes that span the entire industry, protecting others like yourself against similar breaches of privacy. This has been seen before; particularly with Facebook, the social networking website that recently altered its privacy policies to prevent unauthorised profile duplication and doctored images.
In addition, websites such as Facebook have responded to demands from a number of defamation victims to improve the process associated with removing unfair and false claims made against them. For example, many social media platforms are now seen as directly accountable if disparaging remarks are not removed in a timely manner - particularly if they cost someone their job or even their relationship.
This said, Section 1 of the Defamation Act does denote that an individual or business will only have to answer to a defamation case if they wrote, edited or published the incriminating content themselves. Internet service providers and social media platforms are exempt from a status as 'publishers' of defamatory content because they only provide a service that allows information to be available electronically. Further, they are also removed from being accountable for defamation if they had no influence or involvement in the production of incriminating materials for online consumption. The argument over whether ISPs should be accountable for questionable content held on their services remains. In 2006, one case found that a lawsuit against an ISP for publishing defamatory remarks could not be upheld, primarily because it would be too difficult to monitor its servers continually.
It can be argued that fighting against internet defamation is difficult because of how expansive the web is. Even though this might seem to make the work of expert solicitors in this area a difficult task, better results are being accomplished through intensive liaisons with reputation managers. These experts in search engine optimisation use keywords that are relevant to an individual or a company to improve the search rankings of positive pages and websites. This also lowers the presence of the defamatory comments which were made; and as many internet users do not scroll past the first page of search results shown by search engines, this limits the awareness and the damage that the defamatory comments can do in future.
With the right legal representation it is easier to track down the source of internet defamation and ensure that the necessary action is taken. This is due to the use of IP logs and cached data from websites that shows when the defamatory content was present on a webpage. Some companies may not be willing to provide plaintiffs with the data that they need to sue those who made defamatory comments either; this is due to the Data Protection Act which will protect and restrict their customers in some circumstances.
Another issue is if you are accused of conducting internet defamation. Shared computers and open Wi-Fi networks are both issues that mean someone can be wrongly accused of making damaging comments about an individual or a business. In addition, there are also continued issues with online identity fraud and account hacking, both of which can mean that someone is able to make defamatory comments while using your identity. Usually, offending remarks will be stamped with the time and the date of publication, along with an IP address where possible. If you can prove that you were using a different IP address at the time with the help of a knowledgeable solicitor, and counsel and a good forensic team, you stand a much better chance of entering a strong defence to show a third party had unauthorised access to your internet accounts.
Receiving the expert help of defamation solicitors allows you to get the embarrassing and distressing matter of reputational damage resolved. Indeed, in some cases you may also be able to receive a retraction, apologies and compensation that could limit the financial harm that defamation may have caused. Each case is different, and as some techniques are only appropriate for particular forms of defamation, having an initial consultation is sensible to determine what the next steps should be to restore your name - as a claimant or a defendant.
