Cyberlibel

Dear Atty. Joji,

My sister was maligned through a Facebook post, which was posted by someone we know holds a deep grudge against her. She is contemplating filing a cyberlibel case against the author of the post. Since the post has already garnered a significant number of shares, likes and comments, I was wondering, can liking, sharing, or commenting on an openly defamatory post be considered grounds for cyberlibel?

Dorothy

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Dear Dorothy,

The Supreme Court, in the case of Disini, et al., vs. Secretary of Justice, G.R. No. 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 cyberlibel:

“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, are simply reacting to or expressing agreement with the original author’s statements. They should not be regarded as the creators of the content they interact with. The true 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 cyberlibel, 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 cyberlibel. First, they lack the same criminal intent as the original defamatory author, and second, there is no specific law that 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 cyberlibel law that takes into account its unique circumstances and culture, such 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.”

Hope this helps.

Atty. Joji Alonso