How the law governs what you can and can’t do on the internet

Hold your tongue
When it comes to libel and the internet one of the most crucial cases in British case law involved the ISP Demon Internet in 2000 – the first in this country for online libel.

In 1997 comments were made in a newsgroup that purported to come from a Dr Laurence Godfrey and contained information that was damaging both personally and professionally. He contacted the internet service provider (ISP) Demon Internet informing them that the posts were fake and asking they be taken down immediately.

The company refused and left them up and Dr Godfrey started action for libel.

The case rested on whether the individual who wrote the posting was the publisher or the ISP that hosted the comments. While it was clear no-one at Demon Internet had written the offending statement, Demon Internet had published it and allowed it to be read by others.

Furthermore, it had refused to take it down once notified.

But the issue was never ruled upon as the ISP reached an out-of-court settlement to pay Dr Godfrey £15,000 and £250,000 towards his legal costs.

The settlement established an untested precedent and now ISPs routinely remove content as soon as it is complained about.

But it’s not just ISPs who are liable – individuals are affected in a similar way. Last year prospective UK Independence Party MP Michael Keith-Smith successfully sued Tracy Williams, a college lecturer from Oldham, for £10,000 damages and £7,200 costs after she made a series of allegations about him and his wife.

The case was particularly interesting because Ms Williams made the comments on an internet forum using an anonymous nickname. Once Mr Keith-Smith decided to take action, the first step was to go to the forum’s owner and request the identity of the poster.

The owners complied and Ms William was one of the first people in the UK to pay damages for comments made on a chat board, although in 2002 a retired teacher won £1,250 in damages for postings about him made on the Friends Reunited website.

But it’s not just libel that can get you into trouble online. Racial and religious abuse online is illegal under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and any statements likely to incite or enable terrorist acts is banned under anti-terrorism laws.

Biting the hand that feeds
Using the internet at work is even more of a legal minefield. In addition to the laws of the land there are also the company’s rules to consider. Most companies now have an acceptable use policy (AUP) and this will either be in a work contract or available as a separate document. Breaching the terms of the AUP can often be grounds for dismissal.

The actual terms of internet policy will vary from company to company. Some don’t restrict internet use at all, others allow a certain amount of personal use, for example during lunch breaks, and others ban it altogether.

The company has a duty to tell employees what its AUP is and employees must obey it.