Web libel laws could be changed

Вloggers and website owners could find themselves less likely to be sued for libel if new proposals become law. The Ministry of Justice wants to change libel laws so they don't expose website owners to "open-ended" liability to articles published. Currently, a claimant has up to a year to bring legal proceedings against a newspaper or magazine after an article is published.

However, with websites, a claimant has up to a year from the last time the page was viewed by a surfer, meaning that libel actions could be initiated several
years after an article was posted. It is proposed that this law should be changed to bring it in line with newspapers and magazines, so the publication date is taken into account.

The Ministry of Justice is currently undertaking a consultation on the matter, due to end in December.

www.justice.gov.uk