On Defamation In Cyberspace

The characteristics of the Internet such as decentralization, anonymity and transnationality have made the Internet become a popular communication media nowadays, as well as the hotbeds of the cybercrimes. Meanwhile there is a substantial growing trend in the rise of defamation lawsuits on the Internet in recent years, highlighting the conflicts of personal reputation and the fundamental right of freedom of expression in cyberspace more than ever.Given the use of the Internet to communicate with others or express personal opinions often unconsciously against the law, it will be very beneficial to understand what kind of impacts on Taiwan’s criminal law the Internet brings.The first part of this paper introduces the concept and characteristics of network defamation, libel behavior which is different from traditional; Libel law applies in the second part introduces the network problems, aiming at the particularity of the network, not to take too advanced or conservative legal, but should be modified to apply existing laws; The third part introduces the network defamation law benefit conflicts involved, namely the freedom of speech and the reputation of the conflict in the Internet age worse; The fourth part introduces network defamation law responsibility, namely the civil tort liability and criminal liability; The fifth part is the network and the imputation of defamation, purity of expression, symbolic expression, speech mixing behaviors are protected by the constitution, So online comments does not constitute a network defamation, praise behavior for a simple point, difficult to infer its subjective malice, should not constitute network defamation, to transfer and share of alleged defamation of articles or links, whether network defamation depends on its subjective vicious, and of the citizen’s criticism suggests is basic rights accorded to citizens by the constitution, the state personnel or even public figures to make objective comments beneath his reputation, also does not constitute a network defamation. On liability, whether network provider(ISP), Internet content providers(ICP), network defamation information communicators publishers or apply the principle of fault, otherwise do not assume legal responsibility; In the end, the advice is put forward in dealing with network defamation case is should consider the particularity of the network, the ban on strategic action, protection of the citizens’ right to free speech, the reputation of the recovery, sort of search engine also canyet be regarded as a kind of good method.