The Ministry of Justice seeks views on updating defamation law so it is fit for the modern age. This consultation will interest FE and HE institutions that post or publish on the internet, particularly those who maintain online archives.
The law on defamation allows someone to make a claim each time a libel is published. However the internet now allows content to be updated, cached, linked, archived and, some might argue, republished every time a web page is requested. So should each publication of defamatory material still justify a separate claim ('multiple publication' rule) or should only one claim be allowed ('single publication' rule) – and how might that work?
Currently, a defamation claim has to be made within a year of publication. But the internet now allows content to be accessed immediately and for many years into the future. So does this time limit need to be changed and how might that work?
The deadline for responses is 16 December 2009 and further details can be found here - http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease160909a.htm.