Tech giants may get friendlier defamation laws

Tech giants might get a friendlier defamation regime in Australia, with the options being canvassed by a significant review including a safe harbour scheme or blanket immunity similar to that offered by the US.

The NSW Attorney-General has been leading the Defamation Working Party, which is working to modernise Australia’s defamation laws, particularly around the internet and the liability of big tech companies such as Facebook and Google.

Last year the Council of Attorneys-General agreed to a first stage of defamation reforms and that the second stage would focus on online defamation law.

“When the uniform defamation laws were drafted more than 15 years ago, social media was in its infancy and trolls were confined to children’s books. This review acknowledges times have changed and asks whether internet giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter should be responsible for content posted by platform users,” NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said.

“Australia needs contemporary laws that protect reputations in an era when anyone can publish almost anything to the world at large with just the click of a button. However, getting the balance right is crucial to avoid online commentary being blocked unnecessarily.”

Defamation change for digital platforms?

The group released its second discussion paper this week, which proposes to separate the “internet intermediaries” into three categories with varying responsibility for defamatory content…

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