The Writing is on the Forum: Liability of Internet Intermediaries in Hong Kong

Not only has social media - Facebook pages or posts, tweets, blogs, forums and online comments - become popular avenues of expression, they have become common platforms to engage in defamation, which is making defamation easier and more pervasive. This note examines Hong Kong's recent Court of Final Appeal decision on the liability of Internet intermediaries for third-party defamatory postings and the degree of protection afforded in defamation proceedings to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet intermediaries.