Defamation – Publication – Where appellants were media companies – Where each appellant created, operated and maintained public Facebook page – Where each appellant created posts on Facebook page hyperlinking to news stories referring to respondent – Where third-party Facebook users left "comments" on appellants' posts – Where comments alleged to be defamatory of respondent – Whether appellants "publishers" of comments – Whether intention to communicate defamatory matter necessary for appellants to be publishers.
Words and phrases – "communication of defamatory matter to a third party", "defamation", "digital newspaper or broadcast", "encouraged and facilitated", "Facebook comments", "Facebook page", "innocent dissemination", "intention to publish defamatory matter", "internet platform providers", "participation", "participation in the process", "publication", "publisher", "rebuttable presumption of publication", "strict liability", "third party".
Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) – s 7(2).
Judgment date
Case number
S236/2020
S237/2020
S238/2020
Before
Kiefel CJ, Gageler, Keane, Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson JJ
Catchwords