Ever since I wrote my story on surviving a libel case about two years ago, there were a couple other people who asked recommendations for legal counsel (apparently, encountering the same situation I had). Back then, news about online libel are very few and far between; the only other case I knew of was the TRO against PCIJ's blog in 2005 (now there's your precedent). True, very few get convicted of libel -- the only one that I knew of was the 6-month prison term for a guilty verdict against The Daily Tribune publisher and editor-in-chief Ninez Cacho-Olivares in June of last year. Libel is about power, influence and money, the latter carrying the most weight. Today, libel on the internet seems too common and we hear/read a lot of lawsuits being filed left and right. (I won't enumerate them here anymore as those issues have been debated way too much, IMO.) What's more ironic is that "free speech or freedom of expression", which is supposed to be literally free, isn't cheap when confronted with a libel suit. I urged them to stand their ground and fight this libel suit. I am no lawyer (though my experience has sparked much interest into going to law school) but I think there must be something that needs to be done with Libel Laws in the Philippines. Read more in our articles including "The Anatomy of a Blog Libel" and "Technology drives Citizen Journalism".
Ever since I wrote my story on surviving a libel case about two years ago, there were a couple other people who asked recommendations for legal counsel (apparently, encountering the same situation I had). Back then, news about online libel are very few and far between; the only other case I knew of was the TRO against PCIJ's blog in 2005 (now there's your precedent).
True, very few get convicted of libel -- the only one that I knew of was the 6-month prison term for a guilty verdict against The Daily Tribune publisher and editor-in-chief Ninez Cacho-Olivares in June of last year. Libel is about power, influence and money, the latter carrying the most weight. Today, libel on the internet seems too common and we hear/read a lot of lawsuits being filed left and right.
Our coverage of libel in the philippines includes: "The Anatomy of a Blog Libel"; "Technology drives Citizen Journalism"; "PopDev Media Awards to cite Bloggers". Each article provides unique insights and information.