Web libel time limit
Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary said he will look at the statute of limitations for web libel under English law.
Answering questions at the Press Gazette media law conference, Mr Straw said he will have a good look at the precedent which effectively means there is no time limit on online libel.
Claimants who wish to sue for libel under English law normally have one year from the date of publication. However, a case from the 19th century established the precedent that if back issues containing a libel continue to be made available, publishers can be sued afresh.
This ruling has been extended to cover articles on the web. Even if it was first published several years ago, a web story is considered to be published anew every time someone downloads it. This means that stories contained in a web archive are actionable as long as they are available to view. The one year time limit only begins when an article is removed from the web.
News Group lawyer, Alistair Brett (who asked Mr Straw the question) pointed out that The Times has an archive going back to 1785, exposing it to potentially huge legal risk.
Answering questions at the Press Gazette media law conference, Mr Straw said he will have a good look at the precedent which effectively means there is no time limit on online libel.
Claimants who wish to sue for libel under English law normally have one year from the date of publication. However, a case from the 19th century established the precedent that if back issues containing a libel continue to be made available, publishers can be sued afresh.
This ruling has been extended to cover articles on the web. Even if it was first published several years ago, a web story is considered to be published anew every time someone downloads it. This means that stories contained in a web archive are actionable as long as they are available to view. The one year time limit only begins when an article is removed from the web.
News Group lawyer, Alistair Brett (who asked Mr Straw the question) pointed out that The Times has an archive going back to 1785, exposing it to potentially huge legal risk.
Labels: Media law
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