Politicians to take defamation cases against bloggers and tweeters
Media lawyer Paul Tweed says he has several politicians on his books in the Republic who feel some of their online critics have gone too far.
He said a couple of cases would likely go to court but his clients’ preference was just to have their most vicious detractors silenced.
“We are acting for a number of politicians. It’s more difficult for politicians because of the public interest defence. If a blogger, for example, can justify what they write based on the public interest, it’s harder to counter that argument.”
Mr Tweed said: “Most are cases where they [the critics] are going right over the edge and the client has been left with no choice but to take action.”
Politicians are only the second biggest professional group seeking his services. The largest group are journalists on the receiving end of online abuse; the third group are celebrities.
Mr Tweed, who practises in the UK as well as in Ireland, said he had several dozen cases pending in the Republic and while he expected most would be settled out of court or sorted before reaching the stage of court proceedings, some looked to be heading for full hearings.
This week the lawyer secured online apologies for businessman and founder of the former Libertas party, Declan Ganley, following disparaging remarks made last month by blogger and tweeter Kevin Barrington. He is also acting for failed presidential election candidate Sean Gallagher over the fake tweet on RTÉ’s Frontline programme and last month he secured a substantial settlement for former minister Frank Fahey in a defamation case arising from newspaper articles.
The Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications is meeting next week to plan a hearing on abuses in social media and what legislative response may be required.
Can we learn from Ganley’s Pyrrhic victory?
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
