Swiss man convicted of racism and anti-Semitism over Facebook ‘likes’ in defamation case
Man convicted over Facebook ‘likes’ in defamation case
MAY 30, 2017 - 11:38
In a landmark trial, a Swiss man has received a
suspended sentence and a CHF4,000 ($4,000) fine in a defamation case which
involved him “liking” Facebook posts that accused an animal rights activist of
racism and anti-Semitism.
On Monday, a Zurich district court found the 45-year-old
defendant guilty of defamation.
The Zurich man had accused Erwin Kessler, the president
of the animal protection organisation “Verein gegen Tierfabrikenexternal link”
and his association online of racism and anti-Semitism.
The defendant had also liked six Facebook posts from
other people that contained the inflammatory content, also commenting on and
linking to several of the posts.
The court said the inflammatory Facebook posts were
unjustifiable. According to Judge Catherine Gerwig, such defamatory statements
on the social media network violated Kessler’s honour. By clicking on a
Facebook “Like” button, the defendant was endorsing the defamatory content and
making it his own.
The act of “liking” content on Facebook spreads it more
widely across the site and makes it available to a greater number of people.
The court added that the defendant could not prove that
the offending statements about Kessler and his organisation were true or that
he had good reason to believe them to be true. The defendant’s lawyer had
argued that Kessler had himself been convicted of racial discrimination in the
past.
The defendant can still appeal the decision to Zurich’s
cantonal court.
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