Will media need to police the Internet for defamation?

[StoneMtn]

The concerns arise out of a statement of claim filed by Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria professor and Canada Research Chair in climate modelling, over a series of articles published in the National Post between Dec. 9, 2009, and Feb. 2 of this year.

Weaver alleges the pieces, including a column which accused him of joining the “left coast Suzuki-PR-industrial complex†on global warming, were designed to destroy his reputation internationally.

In his claim, he is asking the Supreme Court of British Columbia to order the Post to not only remove the articles from its own Internet site and any electronic databases where they are accessible, but to assist Weaver in obtaining their removal from any other website.

Toronto media lawyer Brian Rogers said this might be considered essential by someone who believes they have been the subject of a defamatory story that has “gone everywhere.â€

But it would also impose a major new responsibility on mainstream media such as newspapers, which have direct control over a very limited aspect of their publications and can’t control what search engines and bloggers wish to do with a story once published, he said.

“The equivalent would be asking a book publisher to get all libraries to return a copy of a book,†Rogers said Friday.

Paul Schabas, a past-president of Ad Idem, the Canadian media lawyers’ association, agrees. “This would just create a probably impossible burden on the media,†he said.

“In effect, he is trying to say newspapers or the mainstream media suddenly now have to become responsible because of any blogger somewhere in the world who chooses to copy and paste (a story) onto their website. How can the media police the Internet?

Full article here.

Damn you defamation lawyers!