January 2nd, 2006, 23:38
"Take care with Net libel lawsтАЩ
The Nation, Published on January 03, 2006
Any new legislation to curb slander and rumour-mongering on the Internet must be carefully considered, Prime MinisterтАЩs Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva said yesterday. Suranand said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had instructed him to look into ways of curbing slander on websites. The Information and Com-munications Technology Minis-try is considering the matter, he said.
The government believes the freewheeling use of slander on the Internet has caused much damage to many people, he added. Using legal procedures to tackle the problem would take time and risk exposing the government to charges of political interference even if there was a legitimate need for it, Suranand said. Recent months have also seen much criticism of the government expressed on the Internet.
At the moment, said Sura-nand, there was no clear legal precedent but the ICT Ministry will see to it that a raft of legislation is proposed aimed at tackling both rumours and slanderous criticism."
I suppose that slander (spoken defamation) is possible on the internet but libel (written defamation) would be more usual.
The Nation, Published on January 03, 2006
Any new legislation to curb slander and rumour-mongering on the Internet must be carefully considered, Prime MinisterтАЩs Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva said yesterday. Suranand said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had instructed him to look into ways of curbing slander on websites. The Information and Com-munications Technology Minis-try is considering the matter, he said.
The government believes the freewheeling use of slander on the Internet has caused much damage to many people, he added. Using legal procedures to tackle the problem would take time and risk exposing the government to charges of political interference even if there was a legitimate need for it, Suranand said. Recent months have also seen much criticism of the government expressed on the Internet.
At the moment, said Sura-nand, there was no clear legal precedent but the ICT Ministry will see to it that a raft of legislation is proposed aimed at tackling both rumours and slanderous criticism."
I suppose that slander (spoken defamation) is possible on the internet but libel (written defamation) would be more usual.