An MPs’ report on the draft Defamation Bill going through Parliament has proposed that a distinction be drawn for online libel purposes between identified authors and anonymous posters. The situation is currently that websites must very promptly take down allegedly defamatory material posted by users or risk being held to be legally responsible for the post too. The MPs are concerned that this has a chilling effect on the ability to engage in free speech online as websites remove material for fear of being brought into the firing line, thus removing the chance of genuine debate. The MPs propose that websites can keep up posts by identified authors if they are accompanied by a complaint, as long as there is no court order that requires them to pull down the post. In contrast, they say that anonymous postings would not enjoy the same protection and should be removed upon receipt of a complaint. Their report said that with free speech comes responsibility and it has advocated a shift in culture so that unidentified postings are not considered to be treated as true, reliable or trustworthy in the same way as are identified postings.
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