Email has become a part of our everyday life. Things you might never say face to face, or even over the telephone, are easily communicated to others through email. Often times an email received by one person is forwarded to a host of other parties in a sender's email address book without regards to how the receiver may feel about the message being sent.

Emails can be Defamatory

Can you be liable for a defamatory statement you made in an email? Yes you can.

Defamation is defined as communication to third parties of false statements about a person that injure the reputation of or deter others from associating with that person. Defamation can take one of two forms: slander or libel. Slander covers oral defamatory statements while libel addresses the written version. Defamation is an abusive attack on a person's character or good name. If a person is harmed in any way by your statement(s), you can be held accountable in a court of law for your actions.

Defamation requires "publication." When you send a defamatory statement about another person to others than the one you are defaming, that constitutes publication. Any every time an email is sent, it is considered a new publication. Every one who has a role in the publication of that email may be liable.

You should treat email as any other form of communication. If you do not want others to see what you have written, do not put it in an email. Also keep in mind that the person you send the email to may forward it on to others, who may do likewise. What you may think is a joke may very well be offensive to another person.

Deleting an email does not protect you. Remember that the message is stored somewhere else on your computer and those computer whiz kids have a way of retrieving it no matter how old.

Email has made the world smaller. But this creates another new problem in defamation litigation. A lawsuit can be filed wherever the email was sent, received, or published.

Emails may not be Private

The right to privacy is recognized in most states by law or court decisions. However, emails sent through employer provided email can be monitored as long as the employee was given notice that the employer intended to monitor all email transmissions. The Electronics Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA), the federal wiretap statute, does not specifically provide privacy protection for email systems. However a state court may consider email within the scope of its anti-wire tapping and eavesdropping statutes. It is always best to check with an attorney in your state regarding this issue.

Free Speech Lies in Stating Opinion not False Fact

The First Amendment protects your right to free speech. But that means what you say about another must be an opinion and not some false fact. If what you write embarrasses someone or hurts them, if the facts are the truth, you will not be liable. In order to prove defamation, it must be shown that the information was not privileged (that is made to a doctor, lawyer, or clergy); the statement must be a false assertion of fact; and some injury must have resulted.

Some things to remember the next time you hit the "send" button on your computer:

Check that the person you are sending it to is correct. Don't just hit "reply" or "reply all"

Check and recheck what you have written

Emails can be forwarded and reproduced

Finally since the laws in each state vary, be sure to check with an attorney in your state.

The internet has a reputation as a forum for candid, freewheeling and often profane discourse. The anything goes attitude and seeming anonymity of the space can bring out the worst in people. Even thoughtless or foolish comments however can have serious consequences. So even as you browse behind a screen name you need to think before you comment.

You Aren't Anonymous

The Internet Didn't Repeal the Law of Defamation

Yes, you can be held liable for defamatory things you say on the internet. It happens all the time now. Many examples come from negative feedback left by parties to transactions on internet auction sites, like eBay. In one case, a Florida attorney sued a dissatisfied buyer for libel. The buyer left negative feedback on eBay, saying the attorney was a "bad seller, he has the ethics of a used car salesman." The attorney sued the buyer for defamation of character.

The internet differs somewhat from traditional mainstream media when it comes to defamation and related lawsuits. The Communications Decency Act gives immunity to internet service providers for comments posted by their users. This immunity extends as well to web sites that permit user comments. If the web site doesn't prompt the illegal comments or behavior, it will not be liable for it. Of course, this doesn't protect the person leaving the offending comment.
Advocating Illegal Behavior Isn't a Good Idea

A bitter labor dispute sets the backdrop for another case study in internet usage. Some Northwest Airlines flight attendants advocated and organized a sickout by posting a call to action on a web site. This was an unfair negotiation tactic prohibited by labor laws. It was effective, causing the airline to cancel numerous flights during the holidays.

The airline responded by filing a lawsuit against the union and some of its members. It used discovery to find the computer on which the sickout was planned and the records of the bulletin board where postings advocating the sickout were left. From these it was able to identify those flight attendants who conspired to break the law.

Disparaging Your Competition Isn't Smart

Trying to gain a competitive edge or take tactical advantage in a business situation by anonymously spreading rumors about, or bashing, a competitor on the internet has a tendency to backfire. There have been cases where a company successfully sued a competitor for posting negative comments about the company or its products on the internet.


Yes, you can be sued for defamation for what you post on the internet. Your postings advocating illegal conduct may also run afoul of the law. It's not a good idea to disparage a rival's business online. Keep it clean, and you probably won't even need an alias. Don't count on your screen name to give you a place to hide.