Online Defamation Update | A Business Law Breakfast

In the age of technology, it has become too easy for people to pick up their smartphone and jump onto social media or Google and make public their views – whether fact or fiction – about virtually anything.

But is it defamatory, and what are your rights? And what happens if the comments are posted on a social media page hosted by you or your organisation?

Defamation is a complex legal issue, and in this session, we will guide you through the changing landscape for when you are defamed and for when you are responsible for the defamation, either directly by your own words or as an ‘accidental’ publisher.

We will cover:

• Defamation Overview
• Online Defamation Caselaw, including Voller (Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Dylan Voller; Nationwide News Pty Limited v Dylan Voller; Australian News Channel Pty Ltd v Dylan Voller) and Defteros (Google LLC v Defteros)
• What you can do about defamatory posts concerning you and your business
• What you need to do to protect yourself from being an accidental publisher on your social media or websites
• Proposed Reforms.

Paolo Tatti of Aitken Partners has experience in matters including large defamation cases against national Australian newspapers through to matters involving small businesses and individuals.

He will moderate a panel, including:

Melissa Marcus is an experienced barrister at the Victorian Bar who practices intellectual property and defamation law.

Amanda Robinson is a lawyer with Aitken Partners and works on complex litigation, including defamation.