one case study for defamation law
Answers
While civil law for defamation is not codified as legislation and depends on judge-made law, criminal law is in the Indian Penal Code (section 499 creates a criminal offence of defamation.) In a civil action, the claimant needs to prove that the statements injured the person's reputation and were published.
freedom of Expression and the Internet
Historically, discourse regarding the Internet has focused on its potential to revolutionise society. Influential writers such as John Perry Barlow and Howard Rheingold viewed the Internet as a transformative communications technology, with the power to radically reshape society. In his famous speech A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, Barlow outlined his vision of a new ‘global social space’ that was beyond the laws of traditional society. For him, cyberspace offered the opportunity to create a new social order, free from the entrenched power imbalances evident in the physical world. ‘We are forming our own social contract. This governance will arise according to the conditions of our world, not yours. Our world is different’ (Barlow, 1996). Howard Rheingold, writing on the phenomenon of virtual communities, foresaw the role the Internet would play in revitalising the public sphere. He suggested the Internet had the potential to ‘challenge the existing political hierarchy’s monopoly on powerful communications media, and perhaps thus revitalize citizen-based democracy’