Title Page
Contents
CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION 8
CHAPTER II - GENERAL CONCEPT OF SOCIAL MEDIA DEFAMATION 14
1. What is defamation? 14
1.1. Defamation definition 14
1.2. Criminal defamation 15
1.3. Civil defamation 18
1.4. Defenses to defamation 19
1.5. Right to a reputation 23
2. Social media defamation and its nature 25
2.1. Internet usage 25
2.2. What is social networking 27
2.3. Types of social networking 28
2.4. The impact of social media on all aspects of life 28
3. Current complexity of social media defamation 29
CHAPTER III - LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL MEDIA DEFAMATION 31
1. Defamation Law of the United Kingdom 32
1.1. Overall 32
1.2. Defenses to defamation in the UK 33
1.3. "Libel tourism" 41
2. Defamation Law of the United States of America 43
2.1. The approach defamation in the USA 43
2.2. The burden of proof 44
2.3. Elements of civil defamation in the USA 45
2.4. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act 49
3. Defamation law of Vietnam 50
3.1. Right to a reputation 51
3.2. Criminal defamation in Vietnam law 52
3.3. Civil defamation in Vietnam 56
3.4. The obligation of proof 58
4. Conclusion 60
CHAPTER IV: CASE STUDY [PRITCHARD V. VAN NES, 2016 BCSC 686] 61
1. Background 62
1.1. Facts 62
1.2. Holdings 64
2. Analysis 65
2.1. Defamation Claim 65
2.2. Modes of defamation 66
2.3. Analysis on liability for stated modes of defamation 66
3. Conclusion 76
CHAPTER V - PROPOSAL FOR DEFAMATION LEGISLATION IN VIETNAM 78
1. Potential gaps in Vietnam Criminal Code and proposal 78
1.1. Clarify the element of actual malice in "Slander" 78
1.2. Consolidate the element of publication 83
2. Potential gaps in Vietnam Civil Code and proposal in the context of social media defamation 84
2.1. Issue: Lack of a certain basis on civil defamation 84
2.2. Proposals 88
CHAPTER VI - CONCLUSION 91
REFERENCES 94