Defamation decision could hit Internet worldwide

Defamation decision could hit Internet worldwide

09:48 Tuesday 10th December 2002

The Australian High Court has ruled that an Internet article is published where it is read - if adopted by other jurisdictions, the ruling could affect Web publishing around the world

Australia's highest court has ruled that a defamation case sparked by a story on a US Web site can be heard in Australia, opening a legal minefield for Web publishers over which libel laws they must follow.

The landmark ruling on Tuesday that an article published by Dow Jones & Co is subject to Australian law -- because it was downloaded in Australia -- is being watched by media firms as it could set a precedent for other cases.

Dow Jones argued the case, brought by Australian mining magnate Joseph Gutnick for an Internet version of an article from Dow Jones' Barron's magazine, should be heard in the United States, where libel laws are considered relatively liberal.

Debate centred on whether an alleged defamation was published in the US state of New Jersey, where Dow Jones's Web servers are located, or in Victoria, where some readers saw the story.

Gutnick, who has initiated defamation proceedings in his home state of Victoria in Australia, was delighted with the ruling.

"They'll have to be very careful what they put on the Net. The Net is no different from a regular newspaper. You have to be careful what you write," he told Australian television.

A disappointed Dow Jones said in a statement it would continue to defend the case brought by Gutnick.

Two Victorian courts refused Dow Jones' application. The publisher then appealed to the High Court of Australia, the country's highest court, which unanimously dismissed its appeal.

"The court was asked to determine where that article was published. It has made no findings on the merits of the defamation action itself," the court said in a statement.

The ruling caught the eye of the media sector as it was believed to be the first time a country's highest court has defined where Internet publication takes place in a libel case.

The court allowed 18 organisations to make submissions to the hearing, including AOL Time Warner, Amazon.Com, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, News Corp, Reuters and Yahoo!.

Dow Jones, which also publishes the Wall Street Journal, had argued that exposing Internet publishers to defamation suits in jurisdictions where material is downloaded could lead to claims all over the world and restrict freedom of speech.

But the court dismissed Dow Jones' concerns of multiple defamation actions arising from one publication. It said a publisher could argue it should only have to defend itself once.

The court said a claim could be brought only if the person had a reputation in the place where the material was published -- in this case, Gutnick's home town of Melbourne.

Dow Jones said it was encouraged the court ruling recognised the "novel, complex and global" issues of Internet publication which the publisher said needed international discussion.

The executive director of Australia's Internet Industry Association, Peter Coroneos, said the ramifications of the ruling were profound for anyone publishing content on the Internet.

"However, the practicalities of bringing legal actions could ultimately prevent the mass of suits that some have feared," he said.

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