An Australian reappraisal of defamation laws volition apt analyse whether platforms specified arsenic Facebook should beryllium liable for users' defamatory posts, the communications curate said connected Wednesday.
The High Court made a landmark ruling past period that media outlets are "publishers" of allegedly defamatory comments posted by 3rd parties connected their authoritative Facebook pages.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the ruling did not interaction connected whether Facebook could besides beryllium held liable for defamation nether Australian law.
"What the lawsuit did not illuminate was the question of whether Facebook themselves are liable, and that is thing I anticipate" would beryllium examined by the existent reappraisal of Australian defamation laws, Fletcher said.
New South Wales authorities Attorney-General Mark Speakman is starring the reappraisal that aims to marque definite Australian states and territories follow azygous laws to woody with defamation.
One of the review's focuses was the question of net liability successful defamation for the work of third-party content, a authorities authorities connection said.
Former juvenile detainee Dylan Voller launched his High Court trial lawsuit successful a bid to writer large Australian media businesses implicit allegedly defamatory comments posted by readers connected paper and tv programme Facebook pages.
Voller has not taken legal action against Facebook.
The High Court dismissed an statement by Fairfax Media Publications, Nationwide News and Australian News Channel that for radical to beryllium publishers, they indispensable beryllium alert of the defamatory contented and mean to convey it.
News Corp Australia, which owns the 2 broadcast programs and 2 of the 3 newspapers targeted successful the defamation case, called for the instrumentality to beryllium changed.
The U.S.-based CNN past week became the archetypal large news enactment to artifact Australians from accessing its Facebook leafage successful lawsuit it is held liable for defamatory posts.
Fletcher described CNN's determination arsenic "perfectly understandable."
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