Law is an essential part of our daily life, but just how relevant is it when we undertake mundane tasks that are almost automatic for us? Social media is such an integral part of our day to day lives and we tend to post what we want to without a second thought. So, should we be more careful with what we post online? Could the most innocent of posts put us into legal trouble? Could a mere retweet land us a lawsuit? The answer to all is yes, and here is why.
A recent article in The Sydney Morning Herald shows how you may have to pay a large sum for merely airing your grievances on social media. In 2017, a parishioner in Australia lent a 73-year-old man AUD$30,000 which he agreed he would repay with interest by December of that year. When the elderly man did not hold up his end of the bargain, the parishioner posted a series of defamatory statements in 2018 which painted the man as a scammer. The man subsequently sued the parishioner and the judge ruled that these statements were damaging to the man’s reputation as they could not be substantiated. He also stated that financial hardship is not necessarily “indicative of dishonesty” and as such awarded the elderly man a total of AUD$205,000. The moral of this story: do not let your emotions cloud your judgement, no matter how angry/upset you are, do not post something unless you are certain that you can substantiate it.
Did you know you could also fall into a bout of legal trouble for something that you did not even write? This is precisely what happened in the case of Riley and others v Heybroek. Although the case was subsequently dropped by the claimants, it holds an important lesson for all of us. I am sure that the majority, if not all of us, retweet without giving it a second thought. Rachel Riley and Tracy Ann Oberman (two television personalities) filed suit against Myrna-Jane Heybroek (an immigration barrister) due to a retweet of hers that contained a link to an article that the claimants deemed defamatory towards them. Nelsons, a UK law firm, explained that the judge in the case stated that retweeting counted as publishing content as “the article was again made aware to third parties other than the victim”. So just think, the next time you retweet something criticising someone else, you could potentially be facing a suit.
It is rather wild that the advancement of technology and social media has meant that we have to be increasingly more careful with what we say and post. So, next time you think about posting or even retweeting anything on social media, just remember that the largest of outcomes that can arise from the smallest of actions.
Please note that this post does not constitute legal advice.If you require any legal advice, please consult a qualified professional.
