Watch what you tweet or post online
Whilst there is not a high volume in libel cases in England & Wales (primarily because it is so expensive and risky to litigate for libel, so it is largely the preserve of the rich and famous), the number is comparatively rising fast as a result of ill-considered posts online in social media.
Many people seem to think that :-
- There is safety in numbers i.e if others are saying the same thing you are safe
- That they will be anonymous online
- If newspapers hint at something this means it can be taken as fact
In addition, the speed at which people communicate online means that often people forget natural caution and don’t stop to think whether they should hit their internal “pause button”.
Sweet & Maxwell, the legal publisher, has reported that libel cases relating to online libel in the UK have doubled recently from from 3 in 2008-09, to 7 in 2009-10. We believe these figures will be dwarfed by this year where there have been numerous incidences highlighted and the pace of online chatter and gossip has risen sharply.,
It should also be noted that companies and individuals have become very aware of the possibility of their reputations being damaged online and are monitoring much more closely, which again indicates that unless a more prudent approach is taken online, this could be the tip of the iceberg.
