The high court has cast doubt on media companies’ claims that they are not responsible for defamatory comments on their social media posts. Voller argues the media companies did intentionally lend assistance to publication of comments, including by maintaining their Facebook pages and posting their stories to it. Several justices noted that the way media companies use Facebook invites comments, and that posting news stories on Facebook was to their commercial benefit. Gray submitted that the media companies’ suggestion that publication required some element of intention was “beguiling but dangerous”. Gray replied that in Voller’s case the media companies had done “much more” than set up the page, and the conclusion they were liable was “inescapable” as they had published “plainly provocative” invitations to comment.

Source: The Guardian May 18, 2021 07:19 UTC