Keith-Smith v Williams | |
---|---|
Court | High Court of Justice |
Decided | 21 March 2006 |
Citation(s) | [2006] EWHC 860 (QB) |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Macduff J |
Keith-Smith v Williams is a 2006 English libel case that confirmed that existing libel laws applied to internet discussion. [1]
It was important because it was seen as the first UK internet libel case that represented two individuals rather than one party being an Internet Service Provider, [2] and was the first British case involving a successful prosecution of an individual poster within a chat room. [3] [4] The Manchester Evening News claimed that this contradicted a common assumption among bloggers that it was the publisher and not the writer who was responsible for any libel claims that they may generate. [5]
Mark Stephens, the head of media law at Stephens Finer Innocent, characterised the case as "a dark day for freedom of speech with broad implications", [6] which was denied by the plaintiff Michael Keith Smith. [7]
The case involved unemployed ex-teacher Tracy Williams falsely accusing a former UKIP candidate, Michael Keith Smith, of being a sexual offender and racist bigot. [8] Williams had posted as Gosforth. [9]
The court ordered her to pay £10,000 plus costs. [10] [11] Although the accusations were made in a Yahoo discussion group with about 100 members, damages were awarded as the remarks were available throughout the world. [12]