The Law of Defamation and the Internet

The Internet has revolutionized the way in which we communicate. In a few short years, it has made instantaneous global communication available affordably to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection. The Internet is simultaneously a bastion of free speech and a medium of potentially limitless international defamation. The first edition of The Law of Defamation and the Internet was the first text to analyze comprehensively the application of defamation laws in the United Kingdom and Australia to material published via the Internet. It quickly became the standard text for media and information technology practitioners and students seeking to understand this novel and growing area of the law. It attracted wide praise in England, the United States and Australia for, among other things, its clarity and practical approach; its thorough treatment of UK and Australian law; its use of international comparative material, particularly from the United States and Europe; and its analysis of relevant principles of jurisdiction and choice of law. The second edition builds on the strengths of the first. As well as comprehensively updating the law, the coverage of European and American law has been substantially expanded, as has the coverage of 'hot' topics such as liability for linking and framing, and jurisdiction over foreign publications.

Table of Contents:
PART I: THE INTERNET REVOLUTION; 1. General Introduction; 2. The Internet; 3. Issues for Defamation Law; PART II: THE CAUSE OF ACTION FOR DEFAMATION; 4. Libel or slander?; 5. Publication; 6. Identification; 7. Defamatory Meaning; PART III: GENERAL DEFENCES; 8. Justification; 9. Fair Comment; 10. Absolute Privilege; 11. The Duty and Interest Form of Qualified Privilege; 12. The Fair Reports Form of Qualified Privilege; 13. Other Defences; PART IV: LIABILITY OF INTERNET INTERMEDIARIES; 14. Internet Intermediaries; 15. Internet Intermediaries and Publication; 16. Section 1 of the Defamation Act 1996 (UK); 17. The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 (UK); 18. The Common Law Defence of Innocent Dissemination; 19. Statutory defences in Australia; PART V:REMEDIES AND RELATED MATTERS; 20. Injunctions and Related Remedies; 21. Damages; 22. Vicarious Liability; 23. Recognition and Enforcement of Judgements in Foreign Countries; 24. Alternatives to Defamation Law; PART VI: JURISDICTION AND CHOICE OF LAW; 25. Grounds of Jurisdiction; 26. Forum Non Conveniens; 27. Choice of Law in the United Kingdom; 28. Choice of Law in Australia; 29. Proof of Foreign Law; PART VII: OTHER SOURCES OF LAW; 30. Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights; 31. Aspects of United States Law; Glossary of Common Internet Terms; APPENDICES; A.1 Defamation Act 1996 (UK), Section 1; A.2 Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 (UK), Regulations 17-20, 22; A.3 Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (Directive on Electronic Commerce), Articles 12-15; A.4 Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth), Schedule 5, Clause 91; A.5 Communications Decency Act, 47 USC (USA) (1996), Section 230(c); Index