Recently, the Ontario Court of Appeal turned its attention to the issue of how Ontario libel laws apply to statements published online. The case of Weiss v. Sawyer grew out of a long running dispute over a negative book review published in an online bi-weekly publication. The writer of the book took exception to the review and wrote letters allegedly containing libelous statements regarding the reviewer. One such letter was emailed to the editors of the online publication and may have been posted on their websites. On appeal was the issue of whether or not section 5(1) of the Ontario Libel and Slander Act, which applies to libel in newspapers and broadcasts, also applied to statements published online or via email. The Act defines a "newspaper" in part as a "paper" containing certain categories of information printed for distribution to the public and published at least twelve times a year. The online publication was held to fit within this definition. The Court found that to bar an action under section 5(1) against a newspaper, but not against a similar online publication would be "absurd". The online publication was held to be within the definition of a "newspaper". The emailed letter, however, was held to be within the same scope as documents sent by fax. As with faxes, section 5(1) does not apply. For a copy of the case, visit: http://makeashorterlink.com/?O6C423D72 For a copy of the Libel and Slander Act, visit: http://192.75.156.68/DBLaws/Statutes/English/90l12_e.htm

E-TIPS® ISSUE

02 11 21

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