SYDNEY: Wednesday’s decision by Australia’s top court to reject a finding that Google had violated the law by providing a link to a disputed newspaper article has once again brought attention to the country’s procedures for handling internet libel cases.
The High Court of Australia’s seven-judge panel voted 5-2 to overturn a previous decision that the website had an active involvement in disseminating the disputed piece by serving as a “library” for it, arguing that this was untrue.
Where responsibility for internet defamation lies in Australia has long been a subject of debate, but the ruling has just added to the complexity.Large platforms like Google and Facebook, which is owned by Meta Platforms, have been under examination for years in order to determine whether they should be held accountable for libel.
