Fairfax Media Publications; Nationwide News Pty Ltd; Australian News Channel Pty Ltd v Voller

[2020] NSWCA 102

NSW Court of Appeal

View on CaseLaw

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Defamation
2. › Publication
3. › Internet publications
4. › Social media
5. › Facebook pages maintained by media companies
6. › Third-party comments posted on public Facebook page
7. › Whether media company maintaining Facebook page and encouraging comments is publisher of third-party comments
8. › Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), ss 4, 6, 32
1. Defamation
2. › Defences
3. › Innocent dissemination
4. › Statutory defence under Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), s 32
5. › Whether defence operates as denial of publication or defence against liability
6. › Distinction between first or primary distributor and subordinate distributor
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Separate question
3. › Scope of separate question under UCPR r 28.2
4. › Whether primary judge erred in making findings beyond scope of separate question
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Intervention
3. › Amici curiae
4. › Whether unrelated parties permitted to raise issue not pleaded or raised between parties
5. › Whether intervention has utility where issue cannot affect outcome

Quick Take

Media companies and other entities maintaining public Facebook pages (or similar social media pages) that invite and encourage third-party comments are publishers of those comments for defamation purposes, regardless of whether they had knowledge of the defamatory content, and must rely on defences such as innocent dissemination rather than denying publication.