CorpComms Magazine

The number of libel lawsuits relating to new Internet media has more than doubled over the past year, according to legal bookshop specialists Sweet and Maxwell.

It has found 16 cases this year where the complaint relates to libel on a social media site, compared with just seven last year and three in 2008. The legal specialists believe this rise directly correlates to the surge in social media usage.

Korieh Duodu, managing associate at Addleshaw Goddard law firm, said: 'The rise in defamation cases linked to the Internet is inevitable if Internet users like bloggers or tweeters fail to put in place the same kind of pre-publication controls that traditional media uses.'

Duodo told the BBC: 'Such is the speed at which information travels through social networks that one unchecked comment can spread into the mainstream media within minutes, which can cause irreparable damage to the subject who has been wronged.'

Sweet and Maxwell also highlighted several oil companies listed on the AIM register who are to take legal action against Internet users who posted false comments on investment bulletin boards.

The oil companies claim that the comments are 'untrue and malicious' and 'motivated by money'. They have chosen to take action because they believe the comments to be libellous and that they could potentially impact their share prices.

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