Be careful what you blog about, you could be defaming someone
Blogging in the UK could land a person in hot water if the post/s are regarded as libel. According to Lexblog:
In the UK, a a person is defamed if statements in a publication expose him to hatred or ridicule, cause him to be shunned, lower him in the estimation in the minds of ‘right-thinking’ members of society or disparage him in his work. Defenses include proving the statement to be true or fair comment – so long as the opinion is based on true facts, is genuinely held and not influenced by malice.
The test for defamation (our term for libel) is similar to the UK’s test and the dangers are just as real. The purpose of defamation law is to protect integrity and reputation. In the context of our Bill of Rights and the right to freedom of expression that is enshrined in the Bill of Rights we find that:
The law of defamation lies at the intersection of the freedom of speech and the protection of human dignity, both rights protected by the Bill of Rights (See the case of Khumalo v Holomisa 2002 (5) SA 401 (CC) – this quote is from the Bill of Rights Handbook by Iain Currie and Johan de Waal)
The determination of whether comments in a blog are defamatory will involve a weighing up of the rights to freedom of expression and to dignity and, in the case of the media, freedom of the press. This latter consideration raises an interesting question. Will bloggers be included in the scope of "press" for the purposes of enforcement of the right. We see growing recognition of bloggers as members of "citizen media" and bloggers are increasingly being accepted as media at various events. This trend began with the last US Presidential campaign where bloggers were accredited along with their mainstream colleagues to cover the various campaign events. Will South African bloggers be afforded "press" status?
The main thing to bear in mind is that what you post on a blog or any other public space on the Web could be defamatory and expose you to claims by the party alleging it was defamed. It is prudent to write with this in mind. The right to freedom of expression or even freedom of the press is not a blanket freedom to write and publish whatever you want.
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