New era of libel law is ushered in
The Defamation Act gained Royal Assent last week, ushering in a new era for libel law. It introduces a single publication rule to prevent repeated claims about the same material and requires companies and individuals to show “serious harm” to establish a claim. A statutory “public interest” defence protects those who “reasonably believed” publication was in the public interest. Protection is offered to peer-reviewed academic journals, and a process to help website operators deal with potentially defamatory statements is created.
