This QLD article is about defamation and the possibility of being liable for defamatory comments on your body corporate building’s Facebook page.
Question: I run a Facebook page for my Body Corporate. Am I liable for defamatory comments?
Answer: The creator of the Facebook page will be treated as having published the comments.
The High Court has determined that the creators of a public Facebook page that permitted the posting of content on that page, “facilitated, encouraged, and thereby assisted” the publication of comments from third-party Facebook users. As a result, the creator of the Facebook page will be treated as having published the comments.
What does this mean for me?
This means that if you are the creator and/or administrator of a Facebook page and a third-party comments and/or posts on your Facebook page, you may be held liable for the content of that comment and may be subject to a defamation action.
What can I do?
Facebook has since changed its policy to allow for the comment facility to be disabled. To prevent liability under this new ruling the best options are to disable all comments or delete the Facebook page. A lesser option is to carefully and frequently monitor the comments on the Facebook page.
Peter Hunt Mathews Hunt Legal E: peter.hunt@mathewshuntlegal.com.au
This post appears in the October 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Have a question about defamatory comments on your building’s Facebook page or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
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