If someone has made a harmful/damaging statement about you or your business online, your first step should be to notify the online platform that is hosting the offending content – e.g. Trademe, Facebook, etc. Platform hosts often have an easy method to allow you to report the post. On Facebook for example, if you hit the three dots at the top of the post, the popup menu includes a “report post” option.
You can ask Netsafe for help. Netsafe’s services are free of charge. It is approved under the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA) to investigate complaints about online abuse and intimidation, like bullying, harassment, and revenge porn – which can include online defamatory statements.
Netsafe has relationships with many online platforms and can negotiate on your behalf to have the material taken down.
Another option is to send the author of the content a cease and desist letter – a lawyer can help with this.
The last option is to bring proceedings in court under the Defamation Act – again, a lawyer can help you with this too.
Wishing you a defamation-free holiday season!
Joanne Dickson
Be careful about what you post online over the holidays, including your podcasts. If you post something harmful or damaging to someone else or their business, you could be in for a world of pain! This includes simply sharing something that someone else has said or written.
Even if what you are saying is technically true, you can still be sued for defamation because it is the truth of the implications in that statement you would have to prove, not the truth of the actual words that you used.
You could be liable for damages (that is, to pay money to the person or business you said bad things about to “restore” their reputation), and significant legal costs if the matter goes to court.
In one case, photos were posted on a community motocross Facebook page, with statements alleging that a person in the photos was cheating by holding onto his son’s bike. The Court awarded damages of $10,000. In another case, where statements posted on Instagram alleged serious criminal conduct, damages of $170,000 were awarded.
If someone is threatening to sue you for defamation, one of the best things to do is quickly seek legal advice from a defamation lawyer. Defamation is a technical area of the law and full of “traps” for the unwary – you can accidentally make things worse when you’re trying to make things better.
You should also consider removing the offending post or comment until you have obtained legal advice. This can help limit your exposure to damages. This also applies if you are the administrator of a group that allows members to make posts or comments – you can become liable for what someone else says if you don’t.
Wishing you a court proceeding-free holiday season!
Joanne Dickson
Joanne Dickson