Review of internet libel law launched

Consultation paper on multiple publication rule published by Ministry of Justice

The  Ministry of Justice today launched a consultation on the multiple publication rule and how it applies to the internet

Currently, the law allows a claim to be brought each time a libel is published. The government seeks views on whether this ‘multiple publication’ rule is appropriate in the Web age when content is republished every time a page is accessed.

Today’s consultation is part of a wider reform of defamation law currently underway, including the decriminalisation of seditious libel, and the introduction of a new defamation costs scheme.

The deadline for responses to the consultation is 16 December 2009.

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