Review of defamation laws for social media age is launched by ministers

Scotland’s defamation laws are set to be reviewed for the first time in more than 20 years as ministers seek to make them fit for the age of social media.

A Scottish Government consultation on possible changes to the law, which protects people against false claims that might damage their reputation, was launched yesterday.

It follows a report by the Scottish Law Commission published in December 2017 which made 49 recommendations on how existing legislation could be modernised and simplified. The consultation 0 Ash Denham launched public consultation on law

said ministers were “minded” to proceed with many of these recommendations, including the introduction of updated defences for those accused of defamation.

Also under consideration is a new “threshold test” for what might constitute “serious harm” to an individual’s reputation, designed to filter out trivial or unfounded claims before they reach court.

The document asks members of the public to comment on a variety of other issues, including whether the current three-year time limit placed on defamation claims should be cut to one.

The government’s community safety minister, Ash Denham, said: “The enormous growth in the use of social media presents new challenges and means that defamatory communication is becoming increasingly instant and common.”