Blogging Versus The Law

The reasons to blog are colossal – to review, discuss topical subjects,  or to merely voice  your opinions. However, can vocalizing these opinions get you into more trouble with the law?

The Defamation Act was passed here in Ireland in 2009 and while traditional Media organizations have schemes in place to avoid libel cases, bloggers are not always aware of these laws and often over step the mark and may publish offensive material which can be construed as defamation.

An example of this is the court case which took place in India in 2008 between blogger Chetanya Kunte and NDTV, when Kunte accused the television station of shoddy and appalling journalism regarding the mumbai attacks. The blogger was forced to withdraw the post and publish a apublic apology. This just shows that bloggers must be as careful and dilligent as their professional counterparts.