The number of reported defamation cases has dropped to its lowest level since 2008/09—a fall that can be partly attributed to the impact of the Defamation Act 2013.
Research by Thomson Reuters found that fewer cases were being brought by businesses and celebrities, although there has been an increase in social media-related cases.
Some 58 defamation cases were brought last year, a fall of 8% from 63 in the previous year. Only ten of these cases were brought by businesses, compared to 17 the previous year. This may be due to the Defamation Act, which came into force in 2014, making it harder for businesses to bring claims against newspapers and other entities. There has also been a shift in the way celebrities tackle defamation—only three brought defamation cases last year, compared to 12 in the previous year.
“For businesses to succeed in a defamation action they now need to show that the damage to their reputation has caused or is likely to cause serious financial loss rather than just general reputational damage. Clearly that is far harder to prove,” said Kim Waite, senior associate at RPC.
“One of the aims of the reforms of the Defamation Act was to ensure that only serious claims could be brought and it seems it is having that desired effect. Defamation cases brought by celebrities have declined even more rapidly. Increasingly cases brought by celebrities against media companies are presented as breaches of their privacy or data protection rights.”
However, social media has increased the risk of defamation. There were 13 social media-related cases last year, up from 11 in 2014/15 and eight in 2013/14. For example, a woman was sued for comments made about her ex-husband on Facebook, while the headteacher of an independent school won damages after a parent claimed she bullied pupils.
Waite said: ‘Sometimes users of social media act as though it is outside of the scope of the law and then they are shocked to find that all the laws relating to defamation do apply.’
