The Law On Defamation Relating To Social Media

• Published date: 24 July 2020
• Law Firm: MahWengKwai & Associates
• Author: Sue Ann Wong and Raymond Mah

In this day and age, everyone is on some form of social media, be it Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, etc. This increase in access has made it easy for people to share their statements, whether true or untrue, with the world at large. As such, cases involving defamatory statements made on social media platforms are on the rise. This is not constrained to cases involving politicians but also the general public at large. In defamation cases, the Court has to balance a person's right to free speech and a person's right to not be defamed.

How to Prove Defamation?

There are 3 elements to be satisfied before defamation can be proved:

1. The words are defamatory;
2. The statement must refer to or identify the person being defamed; and
3. The statement must be published to a third party other than the person being defamed.

Who to Sue?

Under Section 114A of the Evidence Act 1950, the following three categories of persons are presumed to have published a defamatory statement unless the contrary is proved:

1. A person whose name, photograph or pseudonym appears on any publication depicting himself as the owner, host, administrator editor or sub-editor, or who in any manner facilitates to publish or republish.
2. A person who is registered as a subscriber of a network service.
3. A person who has in his custody or control any computer on which any publication originates.

Section 114A operates as a presumption in law, there is no need for the person suing to prove who published the defamatory statement. For example, if B used C's Facebook account to post something defamatory about D, D can now rely on this presumption in order to sue C. D does not have...