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European Libel laws are much more...liberal than they are in the US. Frequently, truth is not a defense to libel as it is in the U.S. In much of Europe, the p
by rprasad 14y ago
European Libel laws are much more...liberal than they are in the US. Frequently, truth is not a defense to libel as it is in the U.S. In much of Europe, the primary element is that the defendant suffer harm to his reputation. See, for example, the British aristocrat who was truthfully outed as a Nazi sex fetishist...but won a judgement against the tabloid that published the pictures.
- chimeracoder 14y ago> See, for example, the British aristocrat who was truthfully outed as a Nazi sex fetishist...but won a judgement against the tabloid that published the pictures. I know of a similar, somewhat high-profile case in the US[0]. The point is not even whether or not the plaintiff can win; the issue is whether they have enough of a case to make your legal fees + opportunity cost of time wasted in court sufficiently high. [0] I'd try and find it, but I'm hesitant to Google the keywords at work!
- timthorn 14y agoHe was outed as a sex fetishist. The libel action was brought over the Nazi label, and the judge found there was no evidence of a Nazi theme. If the judge had found there was a Nazi theme, then the libel action would have failed - truth is a defence. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7527319.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7527319.stm
- rprasad 14y agoYep, you're right. I mixed up the libel action with the invasion of privacy action. Truth is a defense to the libel claim but not to invasion of privacy. For IOP, truth is an element in newsworthiness, which can be a defense to IOP. (See eg http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/law/news/libel.pdf http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/law/news/libel.pdf for a long boring legal discussion.)
- johansch 14y agoUK, not Europe.