Determining Compensation Amounts for Online Defamation

The Internet has had a massive impact on many areas of personal and professional life. Defamation has been around for many decades, however the problem has grown by leaps and bounds due to the advance of the Internet as both a reporting and social tool. Generally speaking, online defamation consists of a false and unprivileged statement that is harmful to someone's reputation and is published with"fault" meaning it is a result of negligence or flat out malice. Libel is a written defamation, slander is a spoken defamation, so online defamation is libel as well. The elements which must be proven to establish defamation consist of:

• A publication to at least one other person than the person defamed
• A false statement of fact
• The false statement of fact is understood as being about or concerning the plaintiff and harming the reputation of the plaintiff.
• If the plaintiff is a public figure, he or she must prove actual malice. 

What is Considered Defamation?

Truth is, in fact, a defense to a defamation claim, however the truth may end up being difficult and extremely expensive to prove. Some examples of libelous statements include: charging someone with being a communist, calling an attorney a crook, describing a woman as a call girl, accusing a minister of unethical conduct (if any of the statements are false). The publication of any libelous or slanderous statement about an individual or business that can be proven to be false, and was published with the intention of harm, is considered defamation. Online defamation is the publication of such statements made on any Internet-based media including blogs, forums, websites or social networking sites. 

What is "Libel Per Se"?

When libel is clear, without the need for any explanation, it is called libel per se, and can happen when someone charges another person with a crime, or with having been indicted, convicted or punished for a crime, states that another is infected with a contagious or loathsome disease, or injuries another directly in respect to his office, profession, trade or business, which has a tendency to lessen profits. 

Statement of Verifiable Fact

A statement of verifiable fact is a statement which conveys a false factual assertion, which can be proved false, such as stating someone has committed murder. If someone reports another is a "dumb jerk," this shows to factual proposition which can be refuted. While it may be insulting to another to call them this, or a similar name, the meaning conveyed cannot be proved false, therefore a libel claim is not supported. Keep in mind that if you repeat someone else's statement, you are just as responsible for their defamatory content as the original speaker if they knew or had reason to know of the defamation. 

Public or Private Figures

There is a difference between a private figure, such as your neighbor, your roommate, the guy who walks his dog in front of your home each morning, and a public figure, in that the public figure must show actual malice--it must be shown that the person who published the words had knowledge that the words were false, and published in reckless disregard for the truth. It is somewhat more difficult for a public figure to claim defamation of character as it is presumed public figures deliberately put themselves in the limelight, and know the consequences. 

Getting Legal Help

The penalties for online defamation vary widely from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If someone has posted defamatory content about you or your business, you well known that such statements published online can kill the reputation you or your business. You should consult an Internet defamation lawyer immediately to assess the damage and discuss your options. The defamatory content needs to be removed immediately, and an Internet defamation attorney will tell you the likelihood for success in this endeavor. When a website owner or poster is not responsive to a cease and desist letter, then your attorney may need to pursue a court order to force the other person to remove the content.