Liability for cyber libel in socmed comments
Dear Atty. Maan,
My sister was maligned through a Facebook post that contained false, malicious imputations. She is contemplating filing a cyber libel case against the post’s author. Since the post has already garnered a significant number of shares, likes, and comments, I was wondering if liking, sharing, or commenting on an openly defamatory post can be considered grounds for cyber libel?
Lauren
Dear Lauren,
The Supreme Court, in the case of Disini, et al. vs. Secretary of Justice, G.R. 203335, 11 February 2014, held that liking, sharing, or retweeting a libelous post would generally not be criminal in nature and subject the person liking, sharing or retweeting to liability for the crime of cyber libel:
“Except for the original author of the assailed statement, the rest (those who pressed Like, Comment and Share) are essentially knee-jerk sentiments of readers who may think little or haphazardly of their response to the original posting. Will they be liable for aiding or abetting? And, considering the inherent impossibility of joining hundreds or thousands of responding “Friends” or “Followers” in the criminal charge to be filed in court, who will make a choice as to who should go to jail for the outbreak of the challenged posting?”
The Supreme Court clarified that individuals who engage with online content, such as liking, sharing, retweeting, or commenting, simply react to or express agreement with the original author’s statements. They should not be regarded as the content creators they interact with. The author, or originator, always remains the person who initiated the content.
Moreover, individuals who merely share or retweet defamatory content are similarly not legally liable for cyber libel for the same fundamental reason: they are not the authors of the content. In all these scenarios, there are two additional reasons why they are not liable for cyber libel. First, they lack the same criminal intent as the original defamatory author, and second, no specific law punishes the act of sharing, liking, commenting, or retweeting content that is openly defamatory.
“The old parameters for enforcing the traditional form of libel would be a square peg in a round hole when applied to cyberspace libel. Unless the legislature crafts a cyber libel law that takes into account its unique circumstances and culture, such a law will tend to create a chilling effect on the millions that use this new medium of communication in violation of their constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression.” I hope this helps.