Reputation Expert Witness
Online Defamation | Publication Bans Expert Witness
With over 15 years of experience in online reputation management, Matt Earle can offer crucial help as an expert witness in court cases involving online defamation or publication bans.
Read below to learn how Matt Earle can assist your case as a Reputation Expert Witness.
What Is Online Defamation?
There are three main forms of online defamation:
Defamation: Defamation refers to harming another person’s reputation by making a false written or oral statement about that person to a third party.
Libel: This is defamation with a permanent record, such as an email, a radio or TV broadcast, a newspaper, a website posting, etc.
Slander: This is defamation with no permanent record, such as a spoken statement.
Damages caused by online defamation often result in:
Loss of employment - Long-term harm to reputation
- Humiliation
- Mental anguish
What Recourse Is There for Canadians?
The rise of social media sites and platforms for customer reviews have become increasingly important in Canada and around the world.
Most of us have learned by now through personal and professional experience that a single Google search will reveal much about a person or a company — including negative perceptions that aren’t always reliable.
That includes online review sites that can be easily manipulated, resulting in additional obstacles to success for professionals and business owners.
While the European Union has enacted a “right to be forgotten” policy that grants greater rights to normal people seeking online protection, that policy doesn’t exist in Canada, and there aren’t currently plans to change that.
In Canada, online defamation cases are usually dealt with through a common-law action for libel.
However, defamation cases in Canada can sometimes constitute a criminal offense.
What Is A Publication Ban?
While the Canadian media has the constitutional right to report on court cases, a publication ban interferes, preventing the release of names and personal details that could identify victims or witnesses. Instead, the information is legally required to be kept private. This applies to both the media and authorities in the criminal justice system.
What Are Publication Bans For?
Often, a publication ban is sought to prevent a given media organization from publishing specific details about a criminal case.
This can protect the safety or reputation of a victim, witness or other person involved in a court case. It can also prevent their identity from being made public.
They are also for:
- Encouraging witnesses to testify (especially those facing intimidation)
- Protecting vulnerable witnesses (like children or sexual abuse victims)
- Protecting witnesses or victims to report crimes (especially under-reported offenses like rape or domestic assault)
- Protecting jurors, police informants or police officers in cases that involve criminal organizations
Reputation Expert Witness
If you’re facing a legal proceeding involving a publication ban or online defamation, you will benefit from the testimony of a Reputation Expert Witness like Matt Earle.
Matt has worked in the reputation management industry for over 15 years, helping individuals and businesses facing issues of online reputation, be it harassment or defamation.
He can serve as:
- A Reputation Expert Witness
- An Online Defamation Expert Witness
- A Publication Bans Expert Witness
Matt understands how painful and traumatic an online attack can be for individuals, and how seriously it can affect a struggling business.
Matt explains the severity of online defamation in a way that resonates with jurors and judges, and provides the greater social context that often wins cases. Matt can articulate that the laws for online defamation and publication bans exist for a reason: To protect individuals and businesses from the immense power of the media and the internet.
To book Matt Earle to speak, please contact him here.
TO BOOK MATT EARLE TO SPEAK
