Exactly, if I buy a product and it does not meet the standard you are lead to believe it should be and I make comment on a public forum, I am not making a defamatory comment as it is a factual statement. The next step would be to take the product back to the retailer. If the retailer fixed the problem, I make that comment on the same public forum, again nothing defamatory. If however the retailer refused to fix the problem and I posted that on the public forum, again it is a factual statement and not defamatory.
If I bought a product that had nothing wrong with it and for whatever reason posted on a public forum the product was rubbish and the retailer and manufacturer refused to fix it, because that is NOT a factual statement or an UNthruth, yes I am being defamatory.
Now if I was to post a defamatory comment here at MySwag, how is Brett, as the owner, going to know if it is defamatory or not. That is the problem Brett has, as does any other Forum owner. If the owner is served with a notice to have comments removed, well it is up to the individual forum owner what they do. I would be looking at just removing all reference to that particular brand, good bad or indifferent.
http://www.reputationhawk.com/onlinedefamation.htmlWhat Is Defamation?
The publication or broadcast of any libelous or slanderous statement about an individual or business that can be proven to be false and published with the intention of harming that entity's reputation is considered to be defamation. Online defamation is the publication of such statements made on any Internet based media including blogs, forums, websites, and even social networking websites. While many Internet users believe that they are free to say and do as they like while on the Internet, this is untrue and the same defamation laws and regulations stand for online defamation as they do in any form of media.
The Difficulties With Proving Defamatory Comments
Much of the difficulty that surrounds successfully winning an online defamation case is brought about because the plaintiff must first prove who the publisher or writer of the statement is and, secondly, that the statement is false and written with the intention of causing damage.
Tracing an individual that has posted a defamatory comment can prove very difficult. It is certainly possible to find out the details of a computer that was used to publish a statement or post content. However, if this is a public computer then it is almost impossible to narrow down the search in order to find the culprit. With Internet access being afforded to computers in Internet cafes, libraries, businesses, and other public areas, this makes it very difficult to find the source of the illegal content.
