Google ruling shocks defamation lawyers – Michael West – Michael West News

Australians trying to defend themselves against defamatory content published online will face more hurdles after a High Court ruling.

In a huge win for internet giant Google, the court on Wednesday found the search engine was not legally responsible for defamatory news articles as it was not the publisher of said content.

Defamation lawyers told AAP they were surprised by the decision, saying it would have major implications for people trying to defend their reputation.

“The majority decision may seem intuitive to some, but it came as a shock to myself and my colleagues who practice as defamation lawyers,” UWA law professor Michael Douglas said.

“The only beneficiaries are massive tech companies, who pay little tax, and the losers are ordinary Australians who want to defend themselves against horrible things said online.”

Prof Douglas said the ruling meant Google could “wash its hands” of defamation action brought by Australians over search results linking to material that could…

Read Full Story: https://michaelwest.com.au/google-ruling-shocks-defamation-lawyers/

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