Australian Court: Media Companies Responsible for Comments on their Facebook Pages
2021-09-17
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1Australia's highest court has ruled against some major news media companies in a case about comments on their social media pages.
2The court decided that the companies are legally responsible for comments because they are the publishers of their pages.
3The decision is an important win for Dylan Voller.
4 He is seeking legal action against the media companies.
5As a youth, Voller was placed in a detention center in Australia's Northern Territory.
6His treatment while there was the center of a 2016 documentary film.
7The film led to a deeper investigation into the mistreatment of young prisoners in Australia.
8Several news organizations posted pictures of Voller on social media when the film came out.
9One showed him tied to a chair with a covering over his head.
10Many Facebook users posted comments about Voller on those companies' social media pages.
11As a result, Voller wants to sue several Australian media companies.
12The case has been held up by a separate legal dispute over whether the companies were the publishers of users' comments.
13The High Court found that the media groups had permitted and urged comments from Facebook users by setting up a public Facebook page and posting content.
14The judges said it did not matter that the companies deleted the comments later.
15A spokesperson for Australia's Nine Network, one of the companies involved, said, "We are obviously disappointed with the outcome as it will have ramifications for what we can post on social media in the future."
16Peter O'Brien is Voller's lawyer.
17He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Voller is relieved the long legal fight, is over.
18"People who might be vulnerable to social media mob attacks - they are protected," he said.
19The High Court decision now permits Voller to continue his legal action against newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and others.
20The case will continue later in the New South Wales state Supreme Court.
21A trial there will decide whether the Facebook comments truly defamed Voller.
22I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Australia's highest court has ruled against some major news media companies in a case about comments on their social media pages. The court decided that the companies are legally responsible for comments because they are the publishers of their pages. 2The decision is an important win for Dylan Voller. He is seeking legal action against the media companies. As a youth, Voller was placed in a detention center in Australia's Northern Territory. His treatment while there was the center of a 2016 documentary film. The film led to a deeper investigation into the mistreatment of young prisoners in Australia. 3Several news organizations posted pictures of Voller on social media when the film came out. One showed him tied to a chair with a covering over his head. Many Facebook users posted comments about Voller on those companies' social media pages. 4As a result, Voller wants to sue several Australian media companies. 5The case has been held up by a separate legal dispute over whether the companies were the publishers of users' comments. 6The High Court found that the media groups had permitted and urged comments from Facebook users by setting up a public Facebook page and posting content. 7The judges said it did not matter that the companies deleted the comments later. 8A spokesperson for Australia's Nine Network, one of the companies involved, said, "We are obviously disappointed with the outcome as it will have ramifications for what we can post on social media in the future." 9Peter O'Brien is Voller's lawyer. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Voller is relieved the long legal fight, is over. 10"People who might be vulnerable to social media mob attacks - they are protected," he said. 11The High Court decision now permits Voller to continue his legal action against newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and others. 12The case will continue later in the New South Wales state Supreme Court. A trial there will decide whether the Facebook comments truly defamed Voller. 13I'm Jonathan Evans. 14Phil Mercer reported on this story for VOA News. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 15__________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17obviously - adv. in a way that is easy to see, understand, or recognize 18disappointed - adj. feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something was not as good as expected or because something you hoped for or expected did not happen 19page - n. the information found at a single World Wide Web address 20ramifications - n. something that is the result of an action, decision, etc. 21vulnerable - adj. easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally