For obvious reasons, this author hopes that a hyperlink, on its own, cannot be defamatory. Yet this is precisely the question before Canada’s Supreme Court in Crookes v. Newton. The defendant, who operates P2PNet.net, authored an article entitled “Free Speech in Canada,” including hyperlinks to further articles that were allegedly defamatory of the plaintiff. The tort of defamation requires publication and proof that the words are legally capable of bearing a defamatory meaning.
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Can a Mere Hyperlink Be Defamatory?
Posted by: Javad Heydary June 22, 2011 05:00 AMFor obvious reasons, this author hopes that a hyperlink, on its own, cannot be defamatory. Yet this is precisely the question before Canada’s Supreme Court in
Crookes v. Newton. The defendant, who operates P2PNet.net, authored an article entitled “Free Speech in Canada,” including hyperlinks to further articles that were allegedly defamatory of the plaintiff. The tort of defamation requires publication and proof that the words are legally capable of bearing a defamatory meaning.