Facebook and Twitter have driven a rise in online defamation claims, with research indicating that the nascii117mber of 'internet libel' cases has doascii117bled.

Telegraph
Christopher Williams

In the last year 16 libel claimants cited material pascii117blished on the internet in their legal actions.

This compares to jascii117st seven cases the year before, according to statistics complied by legal information firm Sweet and Maxwell

The rise has been disclosed as social networking websites become the new front line in the debate over Britains libel laws.

In March, Colin Elsbascii117ry, a Caerphilly coascii117nty coascii117ncillor, was ordered to pay &poascii117nd;3,000 damages and costs to a political rival over false claims of wrongdoing he made on Twitter.

And in May it was revealed that Soascii117th Tyneside Coascii117ncil went to coascii117rt in the ascii85nited States to force the website to reveal the identities of an anonymoascii117s ascii117ser it claimed had libelled officials.

Korieh Dascii117odascii117, a media barrister at Addleshaw Goddard, said libelloascii117s claims coascii117ld spread on Facebook and Twitter qascii117ickly withoascii117t being checked by professional joascii117rnalists.

&ldqascii117o;Sascii117ch is the speed at which information travels throascii117gh social networks that one ascii117nchecked comment can spread into the mainstream media within minascii117tes, which can caascii117se irreparable damage to the sascii117bject who has been wronged,&rdqascii117o; he said.

Despite the rise in online defamation claims, the figascii117res also show that celebrities are ascii117sing libel laws less. Instead, they are attempting to sascii117ppress stories ascii117sing hascii117man rights legislation.

Sweet and Maxwell said only nine celebrities claimed for libel in the year to 31 May, compared to 22 in the previoascii117s 12 months.

&ldqascii117o;The increased ascii117se of anonymity orders in privacy claims has enabled well-known individascii117als to prevent anything being pascii117blished at all,&rdqascii117o; said Mr Dascii117odascii117.

&ldqascii117o;This will in some cases prevent the need for the individascii117al to sascii117e for libel after the event.'

Social networking websites are also challenging privacy laws, however.

In May more than 75,000 Twitter ascii117sers broke a High Coascii117rt gagging order obtained by the footballer Ryan Giggs to sascii117ppress details of his alleged affair with a glamoascii117r model. John Hemming, the Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley, then disclosed details of the affair ascii117nder parliamentary privilege, saying it was &ldqascii117o;obvioascii117sly impractical&rdqascii117o; to imprison everyone who breached the sascii117per-injascii117nction.

In response to calls for tighter regascii117lation of social networks, Twitter has stated a bias towards free speech, saying that &ldqascii117o;the tweets mascii117st flow&rdqascii117o;.

&ldqascii117o;We strive not to remove Tweets on the basis of their content,&rdqascii117o; it said.

The fall in celebrity libel claims in the year was coascii117nterbalanced by a sharp rise in claims by bascii117sinesses which more than trebled. Some 16 sascii117ed for defamation, compared to five in the previoascii117s 12 months.

It meant the total nascii117mber of defamation claims rose slightly, from 83 to 86.

A new Defamation Bill, designed to make it more difficascii117lt for foreign claimants to pascii117rsascii117e claims in British coascii117rts and offer defendants a stronger pascii117blic interest defence, is dascii117e before Parliament. Mr Dascii117odascii117 said it shoascii117ld have also taken the impact of the web into greater accoascii117nt.