The Government has proposed that intermediaries such as Internet service providers act as “liaison points” between authors of allegedly defamatory comments and the people about whom the allegations are made. Following receipt of a complaint, the intermediary would pass the details to the author of the material, or alternatively take down the material if this contact is not possible. If the matter remained in dispute following an initial exchange of views, the intermediary would need to provide details of the author to the complainant, whose legal recourse would need to be against the author rather than the intermediary. The Government hopes this approach would reduce the number of defamation cases. It will now consult on a potential framework for providing an updated Defamation Bill.
Meanwhile, the Government has rejected other suggestions by the Joint Committee on the Defamation Bill, such as the proposal that websites keep defamatory statements online as long as they are published next to a complaint about the statement, whilst anonymous comments are taken down. The Government said that these suggestions would be unworkable in practice. It reiterated its desire to create a balance between protecting reputation on the Internet and not requiring intermediaries unduly to remote or monitor information due to fears about liability.