What is Internet defamation?

Defamation is a false statement of material fact that damages the reputation of the target.  Internet Defamation presents a dilemma to courts who have to balance the damage to the reputation of one person against the Internet free speech rights of another.

Under basic defamation law principles, there are two types of defamation, libel and slander. Libel is a published defamatory statement.  Under traditional defamation law principles, slander is spoken statements.  With the advent of the Internet, the terms Internet defamation, Internet libel, and Internet slander are used interchangeably .  However, in the true sense of the word, slander only applies to spoken statements and therefore there is no such thing as Internet slander.  The terms is nonetheless used to refer to Internet defamation.

The following are types of Internet Defamation:

• Statements that are defamatory on their face - Under Internet defamation law principles, these statements are obviously defamatory. This type of Internet defamation usually results in the largest awards in online defamation litigation.
  

• Internet defamation through false innuendo - Individuals possessing necessary contextual knowledge can appreciate the defamatory nature of the statement.
  

• Internet defamation through legal innuendo - These statements are not defamatory on their face, but is defamatory when viewed with extrinsic information.

For a statement posted on the Internet to be defamatory, it must be a statement of fact, by definition opinions posted on the Internet cannot be defamatory.