网络诽谤行为的刑事司法认定

网络诽谤行为与传统诽谤行为既有一致性又有新特性,对网络诽谤行为的认定应当谨慎对待。诽谤罪是《刑法》上少数几个亲告罪之一,厘清诽谤行为的罪与非罪、诽谤罪的自诉与公诉的界限,有利于进一步对网络诽谤行为准确的定罪量刑,从而保护公民言论自由,维护网络社会的和谐。     

Delfi AS v Estonia: The Liability of Secondary Internet Publishers for Violation of Reputational Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights

In October 2013, the European Court of Human Rights in Delfi AS v Estonia upheld a decision of the Estonian Supreme Court to impose liability on the owners of an internet news portal for defamatory comments which had been posted on their website by anonymous third parties. This note suggests that the decision is important in the context of publications with a ‘public interest’ element to them, because it appears to afford more protection to the right to reputation (deriving from the Article 8 right to privacy) and less to freedom of expression than was formerly the case. It is further argued that the Court's emphasis on the positive obligation of states to protect this right to reputation may mean that the existing English law in this area, including, potentially section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013, is inconsistent with the ECHR jurisprudence.