Malta IT Law Association releases statement on repeal of criminal defamation laws

The Malta IT Law Association issued this statement yesterday.

REMOVAL OF CRIMINAL DEFAMATORY LIBEL SHOULD BE A PRIORITY

Further clarity on how press laws apply to online activities is required. The deregulated global economy requires less onerous restrictions surrounding free speech.

MITLA endorses recent calls for the removal of criminal defamatory libel from our statute books especially due to the multiplying effect that the Internet creates with online information.

Malta should follow the examples of other jurisdictions (including the United Kingdom) which have completely revised the criminal law implications of defamatory libel. This discussion becomes even more relevant when one considers the ever-changing nature of the Internet and how citizens use such medium to share and impart information.

In light of today’s connected world, the widespread use of social networks and the ubiquitous nature of technology, every internet user has become an author and only a few are aware of the potential risks that presently exist when one shares defamatory statements or information written by others. Our laws currently still fail to clearly distinguish between the original author and someone who, merely through the sharing of that information, might potentially make himself liable to criminal defamation.

Furthermore, MITLA believes that a general re-hash of our Press Act should be seriously considered. Even though our Courts have in the past few years repeatedly extended the reach of the current version of the Press Act, and the definitions contained therein, to the Internet, a more detailed and clear law would indeed assist the judiciary in those cases where technological realties have pushed the boundaries of our appreciation of what we can and cannot do online into a legal grey area.

In the coming weeks, MITLA shall engage with stakeholders in order to pro-actively initiate a wider discussion on these issues, not only with respect to matters that purely focus on technology and press law, but also in relation to freedom of expression in general. MITLA firmly believes that the abolition of criminal defamatory libel will help to keep democracy alive and promote responsible journalism.