Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013
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What is Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013
Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 allows the judge, in a defamation case, to make an order against third-parties such as website operators and internet users, which would compel them to remove the defamation from their platform and to cease and desist from sharing defamatory posts.
Why Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 is needed
Can a Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 order be made against a website in the USA
Why Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 is needed
Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 is needed to cover a variety of cases which may include:
- Cases where the person who posted the defamatory posts is unable to take the posts down, often because they are incapable of taking the posts down because they lost the password to the account from which they posted the defamatory posts, because they have been incarcerated or because they have been denied access to the internet
- Cases where the defamation was posted by a person known or yet to be identified
- Cases where the dissemination of the defamatory posts is so wide, it would be impossible or impractical to ask every single person who re-posted the defamatory posts to remove their post
- Cases where access to the website, or to the social media platform where the defamation was posted, is denied for the poster
- Cases where the website operators deny removal of posts from their websites unless it is possible to show that a court order has been made to this effect
- Cases where the website operator of the website where the defamation was posted is located outside of the jurisdiction of the English court and where domestication of the court order could be made in the local courts
Can a Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 order be made against a website in the USA
Yes. A Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 order could be made against any website, including websites that are located outside of the English jurisdiction, including the USA. See for example Brian Dudley v Michael Phillips where an order under Section 13 of the Defamation Act 2013 helped remove defamation from the USA-based website PissedConsumer.com.
Are you a victim of defamation? Time might be of the essence. Call us now for legal advice on +44 207 183 4123 or send a request and we will contact you as soon as possible.
