Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Thursday 5 April 2012

Quelle surprise, comments on twitter etc. can be libelous!


Apologies for being rather behind with the news here as the result of the UK libel case involving Chris Cairns and Lalit Modi was handed down on 26th March. I had followed the case, which was heard in early March, but then forgot to look out for the judge to deliver his verdict, due a few weeks later. Obviously too caught up with the Touraine Spring, wines etc.. 

The judge found in Cairns’ favour finding that Modi’s tweet had been libelous and he awarded him £90,000 in damages. 

I think it was predictable that the judge found that comments on twitter and other social network sites could constitute libel. Anyone who thought that social networks including blogs are a free-for-all, unregulated arena was being foolish and naive. One surprise is that a number of witnesses at the Levenson Inquiry into UK press standards have claimed that the internet is unregulated. Although it is true there is no internet press body and difficult to imagine how this might operate, bloggers, facers, twitters etc. can indeed be pursued under the laws of libel.        

Modi has said that he will appeal.

Links:


• Former New Zealand captain sued Lalit Modi over allegation
• Modi 'singularly failed' to back up claim made on Twitter


Communication in social media such as Twitter is often seen as canteen gossip or private discussions but from a legal perspective they are nothing of the sort.

http://bit.ly/Hfcf4w


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