Social media defamation - responsibility?

theguzman

I am not seeking advice or anything with this, this is something that I am sure boards admins and moderators have to deal with also.

I am a moderator on a facebook group "Locality Group Page" and a friend of mine set it up last year during the early lockdown primarily to stay in touch with people but the page grew at an enormous rate and now has almost 5,000 members from surrounding towns and expats etc. It is mainly used for local news, business promos and local news within reason.

Last week there was a post by an identifiable person along of the lines of "animals running out on the village green, they are dangerous and should be controlled", it provoked an angry mob of abuse against the unamed person responsible without ever identifying or naming the person, it was obvious who the person was but X person was never named but some nasty and threatening comments were dropped as it is clear there is plenty people fed up with that persons conduct in relation to lack of animal control in the common green areas on that housing estate.

As moderator I received a message from one of their family members asking me to take action, I replied asking for the posts in question and when I received them I did indeed remove the posts. Then I got more angry messages from another person connected to the original person and I then deleted the entire thread discussion and I was basically warned that if I didn't delete it then solicitors would be getting involved.

I approved the post to begin with it as there was nothing defamatory and it was written by a newcomer who was concerned for animal welfare but others used it to have a cut off the unidentified person but obviously well known person in question.

We were initially reluctant to remove the post as it was highlighting a genuine concern without identifying anyone and our group has an active anti-censorship policy which has driven its success. We only censor obvious stuff like Racism and Covid related content in order to protect the group itself from Facebook.

Could admins or moderators be held responsible for the actions of members of their group? It was flagged to our attention and we immediately removed it. Basically like boards.ie if a user writes something defaming another then boards should not be held responsible in my view, obviously with usernames it is a more hidden system unlike on Facebook where the majority are publicly posting under their real identity.

Ger Roe

theguzman wrote: »

I am not seeking advice or anything with this, this is something that I am sure boards admins and moderators have to deal with also.

I am a moderator on a facebook group "Locality Group Page" and a friend of mine set it up last year during the early lockdown primarily to stay in touch with people but the page grew at an enormous rate and now has almost 5,000 members from surrounding towns and expats etc. It is mainly used for local news, business promos and local news within reason.

Last week there was a post by an identifiable person along of the lines of "animals running out on the village green, they are dangerous and should be controlled", it provoked an angry mob of abuse against the unamed person responsible without ever identifying or naming the person, it was obvious who the person was but X person was never named but some nasty and threatening comments were dropped as it is clear there is plenty people fed up with that persons conduct in relation to lack of animal control in the common green areas on that housing estate.

As moderator I received a message from one of their family members asking me to take action, I replied asking for the posts in question and when I received them I did indeed remove the posts. Then I got more angry messages from another person connected to the original person and I then deleted the entire thread discussion and I was basically warned that if I didn't delete it then solicitors would be getting involved.

I approved the post to begin with it as there was nothing defamatory and it was written by a newcomer who was concerned for animal welfare but others used it to have a cut off the unidentified person but obviously well known person in question.

We were initially reluctant to remove the post as it was highlighting a genuine concern without identifying anyone and our group has an active anti-censorship policy which has driven its success. We only censor obvious stuff like Racism and Covid related content in order to protect the group itself from Facebook.

Could admins or moderators be held responsible for the actions of members of their group? It was flagged to our attention and we immediately removed it. Basically like boards.ie if a user writes something defaming another then boards should not be held responsible in my view, obviously with usernames it is a more hidden system unlike on Facebook where the majority are publicly posting under their real identity.

The general rule in slander and libel is that the platform used is a contributory factor. If you shout untruths about someone from the side of the road, it will have limited affect on their good name and reputation.

If you do it on the radio, in the paper or on an internet platform then the reputational damage is likely to be much more serious. In that case, the provider of the platform opportunity will more than likely be sued as facilitating the greater damage potential.

That is why radio stations have to take out slander insurance, if a guest says something actionable on air, it is the station that gave them the opportunity to do so. The station will be sued as a first option, rather then the person who actually said it. That is also why boards employ moderators.

Victor

For social media, primary responsibility lies with the person doing the posting. The platform has a much smaller responsibility.

http://www.tjmcintyre.com/2009/05/mulvaney-v-betfair-high-court-holds.html