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Janrain

JULY 2014 brawn

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How social login can help interactive media meet evolving online defamation legislation – and in the process deliver personalised, high quality content for their users. Russell Loarridge, Managing Director, Europe at Janrain, examines why establishing a sense of identity is key to building a strong and compliant online brand.

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t’s hardly surprising that online libel litigation is becoming a growth industry. A steady surge in the number of social and digital channels has not only created a rich platform for user generated content, it has exposed internet operators to the increased risk of publishing discriminatory or defamatory opinion. And in the most extreme cases, without the appropriate due diligence and processes to identify and eradicate calumnious comments, a libel lawsuit could be just an errant mouse click away. So how do you strengthen operations to avoid it? It’s a question of identity.

Libel law: the legislative environment Legislation to combat online defamation is evolving. But, though the Internet is a global animal, regulations vary from region to region. In the US, websites that host reviews are generally not liable for defamation under federal law, but may be culpable if a blog post is followed by the publication of a defamatory comment – even if the comment itself was not written by the blogger. Likewise, in Europe web operators face stiff penalties (including custodial sentences) if found in breach of defamation regulations.

In the UK, new libel laws aimed at giving better protection to people expressing their opinions,

came into force in January 2014. The Defamation Act – which applies in full in England & Wales, and in part in Scotland – reflects the changing communications paradigm stimulated by online and digital channels, and is an attempt to reinforce freedom of speech and the right to publish. Furthermore, with the ‘online conversation’ becoming an increasingly global one, the UK Defamation Act limits so-called libel tourism; although the legislative framework for publication in the EU remains the same, individuals from outside of Europe cannot bring an action to England or Wales unless they can prove that they have a significant reputation to defend there.

In fact, ‘reputation’ is, as ever, central to libel law. The new UK legislation is underpinned by a fundamental principle: that a statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused – or is likely to cause – ‘serious harm’ to a claimant’s reputation. For commercial businesses, this is clarified further: ‘harm’ to a ‘body that trades for profit’ is not considered ‘serious harm’ unless it has caused, or has the potential to cause, that body ‘serious financial loss’. This measure makes it safer for commentators to criticise businesses and means that companies will find it more difficult to use the threat of libel to prevent bad