RE: Court ruling 'threatens free internet'

["Ang Peng Hwa (Assoc Prof)" <TPHANG@ntu.edu.sg>]

David,

We missed you.

I think the verdict is not sustainable. There is an interesting remark
towards the end by an academic. (Who else wants to be involved in something
like this?)

:Media law specialist Andrew Kenyon said internet publishers :should be
concerned.
:
:"People putting stuff online need to be aware they may be :liable anywhere
it is received," Mr Kenyon said.
:
:He said Australian publishers, who have to meet local :defamation laws,
were less at risk of overseas action because :the laws here are among the
toughest in the world.
:
:"From an Australian publisher's point of view our defamation :laws are
relatively strict so if they are meeting our law they :are probably OK
(elsewhere)," he said. 

Australia's law may be pretty strict as it comes from England. But that is
not the point. If the defamed party is overseas, meeting Australia's laws is
irrelevant. Example: some of the statements made by Australia's Channel 7
regarding the takeover of the telco Optus (imputing all manner of motives,
etc) by the Singapore telco Singapore Telecom would be defamatory. They may
be ok by Australia's standards only because the defamed party is not in
Australia.

I think I see a boomerang coming out of Australia . . . .

Ang Peng Hwa

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Goldstein [mailto:goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au]
> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 9:49 AM
> To: APPLe
> Subject: Court ruling 'threatens free internet'
> 
> 
> Hi all
> 
> An interesting, and potentially disturbing, judgement in an
> Australian court... plus another on South Korea...
> 
> Cheers
> David
> Court ruling 'threatens free internet'
> BUSINESSMAN Joseph Gutnick has won a landmark court ruling that puts
> internet publishers around the world on notice that they can be sued
> under Australia's strict defamation laws - and effectively in any of
> the 190 nations where defamation proceedings can be brought.
> 
> http://australianit.news.com.au/common/storyPage/0,3811,270621
> 9%5E1286,00.html
> 'Battling' Joe Gutnick wins first round 
>  http://www.smh.com.au/news/0108/29/biztech/biztech1.html
>  See http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSC/2001/305.html for the
> full judgement.
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