Bitter tweet: defamation in social media

Ahead of a video hangout on Wednesday answering your legal questions Stephen von Muenster looks at how defamation law is evolving in social media.

140 defamatory characters posted in the Twitter-sphere could cost tens of thousands of dollars in damages, the New South Wales District Court has held. The case reignites the complexities of defamation law in a world where everyone is a publisher and information is disseminated across the globe at the click of a button.
In the recently handed down court decision of Mickle v Farley, 20 year old Andrew Farley was sued by Ms Christine Mickle, a highly-regarded music teacher who taught at the same school. Mr Farley believed Ms Mickle was responsible for his father (the previous head teacher of music) leaving the school, and posted multiple allegations on both Twitter and Facebook. The comments were false, as his father had left the school in 2008 “in order to attend to personal issues.” The suggestion that she was responsible for the harm or ill-health of the father caused distress to Ms Mickle, who subsequently took a year of sick leave.

The case itself is unremarkable in regards to the current state of defamation law in Australia except that it’s the first Twitter judgement. Judge Elkaim awarded $85,000 in compensatory damages. He commented: “When defamatory publications are made on social media it is common knowledge that they spread. They are spread easily by the simple manipulation of mobile phones and computers. Their evil lies in the grapevine effect that stems from the use of this type of communication.”

Judge Elkaim additionally awarded $20,000 for aggravated damages for Mr Farley’s uncooperative behaviour. The case shows the accountability of social media users for their actions, even when Mr Farley only had a mere 60 Twitter followers and 50 Facebook friends.