Hacking scandal results in defamation case drop
Fewer defamation cases went to court last year as the press played it safe because of the hacking scandal, a media lawyer has claimed.
“Phone hacking has put journalistic standards under the microscope like never before,” says Korieh Duodu, partner at media law firm David Price Solicitors and Advocates.
“Media companies are concerned that the phone-hacking scandal could lead to the imposition of a statutory media-standards regulator, and they have made every effort to put their own houses in order to avoid this. That will mean a more conciliatory, less controversial approach and fewer defamation cases.”
The number of reported defamation court cases in the UK fell 15% last year, from 84 to 71, according to research by Sweet & Maxwell. There was a 36% drop in the number of cases against traditional media companies, like newspapers and broadcasters, reaching a five-year low of just 27 cases.
Privacy injunctions have become popular as an alternative to defamation law actions because they can prevent initial publication of negative stories and also “kill stories which are true”, says Duodu. Yet, high-profile stories involving footballers Ryan Giggs and John Terry have shown that it will be more difficult to get anonymity orders keeping the identities of parties confidential, and it will also be “exceedingly rare” to get “super-injunctions”, he says.
