Who is responsible for defamatory comments posted under news items? According to the Supreme Court in Australia, these are the media companies. Yesterday the court ruled that newspapers and television channels, because they use Facebook, are the publisher of the comments posted.
Does this also apply to the Netherlands, where a large number of the public makes use of the possibility to post comments under articles on a daily basis?
“There is an essential difference between Australia and Europe,” says ICT lawyer Arnold Engelfriet. “Europe has had rules since 2000 that state that you are not liable for what people do on your site. You do not have to intervene until you have been informed and are liable if you fail to investigate the comment and, if necessary, to remove.”
As long as no one complains, a company is therefore not obliged to screen and keep track of reactions on the sites, says Engelfriet. “But if you fail to do that, you end up with a lot of digital weeds and an online environment where people don’t feel comfortable.”
Violent reactions
In another way, a media company can still be called to account for offensive reactions on the site, says the lawyer.
“The European Court of Human Rights has stated several times that if you know that publication on certain topics can lead to questionable or strong reactions, there is an obligation to moderate. Because in such a situation you know in advance that people will run dry. “
–
