Canadian Internet Faces Danger from Lawsuit

According to Canadian law professor Michael Geist, two defamation lawsuits filed in British Columbia could significantly "reshape free speech on the Internet in Canada." In a Toronto Star article, he notes that the suits, both filed by the same individual, go after not only the authors of the allegedly defamatory material, but of any companies hosting the statements. Unlike in the U.S., there are no statutory protections for sites or services when they it possible for people to publish whatever they want to say. Canada, like most of the Commonwealth countries, has defamation laws that are considerably friendlier to plaintiffs than in the U.S., at least when the people in question are public figures. Should the courts agree that intermediaries can be held responsible for what people write, the effect could be a vastly changed Internet in Canada ... and a lot less freedom of speech, as the companies, in order to protect themselves, eliminate the outlets for expression that most people have.