Defamation: Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to seek to reduce the incidence of publication of defamatory material on the internet. (298216)

The Ministry of Justice is concerned to ensure that the law on defamation operates fairly and effectively in relation to publications on the internet.

We therefore published a consultation paper “Defamation and the Internet: the multiple publication rule” on 16 September 2009. This consultation seeks views on the effect of the multiple publication rule (which provides that each publication of defamatory material can form the basis of a new cause of action) in relation to online archives and will close on 16 December 2009.