Can You Sue for Net-Based Libel?

Whether you sell industrial sweepers, maintain a charity website or just chat on forums, if you're online you could run into someone who tries to defame your character. Sometimes such people are genuinely angry, sometimes they're just trying to get a rise out of you, and in some cases they're mentally unbalanced. Whatever the reason, online defamation can ruin your reputation, damage your career and even leave you vulnerable to legal investigation.

Defining Libel

Defamation falls into two categories: libel and slander. Slander describes spoken words that injure your reputation, while libel describes written defamation. Online definition is considered libel.

To be libel, a written statement must be a false statement presented as a fact, not an opinion. Under the First Amendment, an idea cannot be considered false. Therefore, if someone posts an online message that you're a jerk, it may be hurtful, but it's just an opinion and therefore nor libel. If, however, someone says you’re a jerk who murdered your grandmother, that's libel, because your alleged activities are presented as fact.

Fighting Libel

While some states have legal consequences for libel, most libel cases are presented in civil court. You need to prove your defamer either knew the statement was false or had serious doubts about the statement.

Of course, you also need to find him or her. That's relatively easy if the offender uses a blog or website to attack you. If the libeler uses online forums and message boards, tracking the culprit down can be more difficult. Free Wi-Fi hotspots in coffee shops, restaurants and other locations allow your defamer to strike from relative anonymity.

Dealing with Online Libel

Given the relative difficulty of locating an online libeler, many people seek to solve the problem without recourse to the courts. With the help of a lawyer, draft a formal notice to send to the offending party, stating their information is libelous and demanding the content be removed. If nothing else, an attempt to solve the problem civilly puts you in a favorable light with the courts, should you need to take legal action. Stay civil in the letter, no matter what filth the offending party says about you. Starting a name-calling war does you no good.

If the offending party does not back down, consider writing to the owner of the blog site or forum. While website providers are generally not held liable for material posted by others, they may be willing to remove the content rather than be involved in a legal dispute. In your request, provide proof the statements are libelous.

Most online searches only look at the first page of search engine results. You can effectively remove your online enemy's libelous comments by increasing the number of positive search results for your name. Banishing him to page 5 of Google's results effectively silences him. A simple SEO campaign can accomplish this.