| Liability of Internet Service Providers for Defamation Publications on the Internet: Israeli Practice and Comparative Analysis Prepared by S onia Shnyder, Adv. and Keith Shaw, Adv. December 2003 Print this document In this article, we first address the liability of an author of a defamatory statement published on the Internet, and then review the liability of ISPs in such regard, both in foreign jurisdictions and in Israel. Liability of author publishing defamatory material on the Internet Publication of defamatory statements incurs civil and criminal liability under the Law . The Law provides a broad definition of what constitutes Âpublication for defamation purposes , which definition is confirmed by the judicial decisions in the matters of Golan and Borochov . A person publishing defamatory material on the Internet will be liable if his publication is deemed libel and does not fall within the scope of any of the exemptions or defences envisaged by the Law. Exemptions include such matters as publications, speeches and reports made by members of the government, the Knesset, the state comptroller, judges and other public officials acting in such capacity . A defence important for journalistic activity is the truth and public interest of the published statement . Other defences include publication defending a legitimate personal interest of the publisher or the addressee of the publication, and the publication of an opinion of the conduct of a governmental or public official | |
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