Thursday, May 16, 2013

Defamatory material on Facebook and YouTube: McKeogh v. Doe and others

The High Court today gave a significant decision in McKeogh v. Doe and others concerning defamatory material posted through Facebook and YouTube. The background to the case is well summarised by the Daily Mail. As I have a professional involvement I'll refrain from any comment except to explain that this is an interlocutory judgment (i.e. pending a final hearing of the action) in which Peart J. held that a mandatory injunction should be granted against Facebook and the Google defendants requiring them to take down material defaming the plaintiff until the full trial can take place. The judgment did not itself grant an injunction - instead, the details of the injunction will be determined following a meeting to take place between experts for the plaintiff and the defendants. After this meeting the experts must report back to the court with either an agreed report or separate reports regarding the technical steps which can be taken to remove the defamatory material as far as reasonably possible.

Full text of the judgment:

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