A Chicago man is suing 27 women in the Chicago Facebook Group "Are we dating the same guy." Attorneys for the man liken disparaging remarks made about him to a digital scarlet letter.
This makes question though, where is the line between private conversation and public defamation?
We probably all agree talking smack between friends is ok, and defaming someone on xitter is not. The hard bit for me is where is the line between the two?
I believe the line is drawn based on intent. Talking behind a person’s back to vent out some frustration is not considering defamation. Spreading lies with the intent of ruining the reputation (both on social media or in person), or in general causing harm is defamation.
But I am in no way qualified to give that answer, so I hope someone more knowledgeable could correct me.
It seems this instance was neither one of those, it was to inform others of their experiences with the person. What do you think this falls under? If I can say true but defaming things about a restaurant, can I also about a person? It’s a tough grey area.
The question would probably come down to “valid criticism” vs “harassment”. 1A does get into some thorny issues about when protected free speech crosses a line. I would expect that something that is objectively true (i.e. factual) would have more leeway than a subjective opinion.
The actual lawsuit puts up an example of a woman who posted an article about a sexual assault (iirc?) in a discussion aboht him, implying he’s the perp and the lawyer is playing those types of things as what becomes defamation.
Yeah, that’s pretty clear, but unless all 27 were also saying that the perp was him, saying other things like their opinions of him, etc aren’t really meeting that mark.
This makes question though, where is the line between private conversation and public defamation?
We probably all agree talking smack between friends is ok, and defaming someone on xitter is not. The hard bit for me is where is the line between the two?
I believe the line is drawn based on intent. Talking behind a person’s back to vent out some frustration is not considering defamation. Spreading lies with the intent of ruining the reputation (both on social media or in person), or in general causing harm is defamation.
But I am in no way qualified to give that answer, so I hope someone more knowledgeable could correct me.
It seems this instance was neither one of those, it was to inform others of their experiences with the person. What do you think this falls under? If I can say true but defaming things about a restaurant, can I also about a person? It’s a tough grey area.
The question would probably come down to “valid criticism” vs “harassment”. 1A does get into some thorny issues about when protected free speech crosses a line. I would expect that something that is objectively true (i.e. factual) would have more leeway than a subjective opinion.
The actual lawsuit puts up an example of a woman who posted an article about a sexual assault (iirc?) in a discussion aboht him, implying he’s the perp and the lawyer is playing those types of things as what becomes defamation.
Yeah, that’s pretty clear, but unless all 27 were also saying that the perp was him, saying other things like their opinions of him, etc aren’t really meeting that mark.
If it’s true it isn’t defamation. It isn’t defamation if you reasonably believe it to be true, I’m fact (at least here in the UK).