.png)
Attorney-at-law Emily Shields
By Racquel Porter
Attorney-at-law Emily Shields is calling for the return of the common law offence of criminal libel amid an explosion of complaints associated with the increase of social media commentary.
The offence was abolished with the passage of the Defamation Act 2013, which also abolished the distinction between libel and slander.
The call by Mrs Shields comes days after Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson appealed for specific legislation to define new offences for people who use digital platforms to create public mischief.
She was also reacting to attorney Gavin Goffe's statement that legislation already exists but requires revision and updating.
Noting that Mr. Goffe spoke specifically to the Cybercrimes Act 2015, Mrs Shields said eight years later, there have been a number of developments in social media that may not have been covered in the legislation.
Mrs Shields highlighted that in the case of Twitter, the social media platform is not considered a publisher under Section 130 of a Federal Law in the United States which allows its users to post misinformation and disinformation without consequence.
She explained that in this case, a person whose reputation has been damaged would have to pursue the author of the tweet.
She further noted that in the case of traditional media, the publisher would be in breach of the libel law.
As such, she suggested the criminal libel offence be brought back to deal with people who make false statements via social media.
"When you do find them and bring the action against them, if you get judgment against them, and they cannot pay because they don't have any money in the first place, but they have completely damaged your reputation, they must serve time for the wrong that they have done."
She argued that criminal libel was removed in response to mainstream media but the situation has changed with the rise of social media.
"We are no longer dealing with mainstream media where the principles of responsible journalism do not seem to apply for social media, and people have no recourse for getting any monetary compensation at the end," she complained.
She was speaking Thursday morning on the Help Me Understand This segment of Radio Jamaica's Sunny Side Up.
comments powered by Disqus
.jpg)
All feeds
