[x-pubpol] European Court Finds Liability for Defamatory Comments by Anonymous Users

[Joly MacFie]

http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/jurisdiction/international-decisions/european-court-finds-liability-for-defamatory-comments-by-anonymous-users

The European Court of Human Rights  (“ECHR”) upheld Estonian court rulings
that Delfi, an online news portal in Estonia, was liable for defamatory
comments posted by its users. *Delfi AS v. Estonia*, no. 64569/09, ¶¶7, 94,
Eur. Ct. H.R. (October 10, 2013). Delfi was fined 5,000 kroons
(approximately $426) in damages. *Id*. at ¶23. The ECHR affirmed the
finding that Delfi could be held liable as a “publisher” of the work, *id*.
at ¶50, and held that the decisions represented a “justified and
proportionate” restriction on Delfi’s freedom of expression under Article
10 of the European Convention on Human
Rights<http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf>
 (“Convention”). *Id*. at ¶94. In so holding, the ECHR noted that Delfi was
“expected to exercise a degree of caution” in monitoring comments on
predictably controversial articles. *Id*. at ¶86. The ECHR further held
that it was both practical and reasonable to hold Delfi liable, as the
actual authors of the comments were anonymous and Delfi derived a
commercial benefit from allowing its users to comment. *Id*. at ¶¶91, 93.
The decision, however, may still be appealed.

Index<http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/10/european-ruling-spells-trouble-online-comment/>
, Forbes<http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/10/11/every-website-that-accepts-comments-now-has-a-european-problem/>,
and the International Business
Times<http://www.ibtimes.com/websites-liable-anonymous-comments-european-court-upholds-defamation-case-against-estonian-news>,
strongly criticize the case, arguing that the decision departs from the
traditional approach to liability for anonymous comments, and that the
result could have far-reaching implications for Internet liability and the
freedom of anonymity.Inforrm’s
Blog<http://inforrm.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/case-law-strasbourg-delfi-as-v-estonia-court-strikes-serious-blow-to-free-speech-online-gabrielle-guillemin/>
features
a thorough and critical analysis of the Court’s decision. The ECHR’s press
release<http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra-press/pages/search.aspx#{%22sort%22:[%22kpdate%20Descending%22],%22itemid%22:[%22003-4529626-5466299%22]}>
may
be found here.
<snip>
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