A key legal area now being fuelled by the internet revolution is online defamation and libel. This can be mainly attributed to the ease with which anyone can publish.
One book which does seek to deal with these legal issues is Charles J. Glasser Jnr's International Libel & Privacy Handbook.
Glasser's background is that he is media counsel to Bloomberg News. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he represented a wide range of broadcasters, magazines and newspaper publishers.
As Glasser writes "The threat of libel litigation is now exacerbated by the reach of the internet. Today, bloggers are breaking news that is chased by mainstream media. They are now credentialed at national political conventions and even at the White House. Acting as self-appointed mass media watchdogs, bloggers have claimed credit in ending the careers of a famous television news commentator and various news executives"
The central dilemma for journalists, authors, webmasters, lawyers, publishers and students worldwide is that they can be sued - successfully for violating legal standards thousands of miles away.
The issue is particularly relevant within the United States as whilst the right to publish is embedded within the First Amendment of the US Constitution, in many other countries the courts do not take such a press-friendly approach.
This book seeks to address these issues by taking a unique country by country approach to covering the legal position.
Countries covered include Brazil, Canada, United States, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Belgium, England & Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Spain and Switzerland.
How does Glasser cover these countries?
He has assembled a team of respected lawyers from around the world to answer a list of the most commonly troublesome libel issues. There are 21 questions which are asked such as:
- What is the locally accepted definition of libel?
- May corporations sue for libel?
- Has your jurisdiction applied established media law to internet publishers?
- Is a right to privacy recognised?
- Are there any cases where the courts enforced a judgment in libel from another jurisdiction against a publisher in your jurisdiction?
The answers to these and the remaining questions proves to be the basis of the book.
The team of legal authors which Glasser assembled is impressive.
For example, with respect to England & Wales, Mark Stephens of Finers Stephens Innocent answers the questions. Mr Stephens is well known within the UK and has been described by the Law Society Gazette as "the patron solicitor of previously lost causes."
Alternatively, with regard to Spain, Almudena Arpon de Mendivil answers the questions - He is the head of the telecommunications and audiovisual department at Gomez-Aceboo & Pombo in Spain.
From my perspective what I liked most about the book were the additional chapters which cover issues of global interest. These include - international media law and the internet, special issues for book publishers, enforcing foreign judgments in the United States & Europe, fair use and the emergence of privacy as a claim in the UK.
In a previous post, I have referred to Nancy Wolff's expert consideration of "fair use."
Furthermore, in the preface, Glasser himself provides a global model which I intend to apply as the basis for providing guidance to would be bloggers relating to the legal issues of blogging. According to Glasser, publishers should consider the following prior to publication:
- Put accuracy ahead of style and speed
- Make fairness an obvious and primary element of all news stories
- Serve the public interest
- Cultural sensitivity counts
- Don't confuse the right to publish with what's right to publish
This is crucial information for bloggers.
Recommendations for improving the book?
Only one.
Mr. Glasser is clearly on top of his field and has a clear and insightful writing style. His written contribution to the book included the preface and the chapter on International Media Law and the Internet which he wrote with Jonathan Hart of Dow, Lohnes & Albertson. He also prepared a cross-reference chart comparing the relevant legal position of all the countries.
It would probably contradict the purpose of the book (which reflects the strong team of lawyers) but as I enjoyed his writing so much, is there a chance that Mr. Glasser will make even more of a written contribution in the future?
This book can be purchased at amazon.com
Comments