A Facebook group administrator is responsible for posts published in his group, just like the owner of a media group is responsible for the posts of its employees, according to a new ruling issued by a Magistrate's Court, cited on the website 'The Marker'.
The ruling was given by Judge Rene Hirsch of the Rehovot Magistrate's Court. Since it is a Magistrate's Court ruling, it does not set a binding precedent.
In the case brought before Judge Hirsch, Meir Dahan, head of the Mazkeret Batya Local Council, sued Shalom Kamil, on the grounds of violating the Defamation Law, for allegedly offensive statements in posts published in five different Facebook groups intended for Mazkeret Batya residents, such as "The Colony" and "Elections for the Mazkeret Batya Council.".
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Dahan claimed that the things Camil posted on Facebook, for which he refused to apologize, seek to portray him as someone who does not adhere to telling the truth, who whitewashes, who does not pay property taxes, and who disdains the residents of Mazkeret Batya and treats them "like air.".
The defendant responded, among other things, that not all of the posts were written by him, but by other members of the group. To this, the judge ruled that in her opinion the Facebook group should be considered a "media outlet," according to the definition of the law. "Uploading content to the Facebook site constitutes the transmission of news, stories of events, comments or explanations, or 'other matter of public importance' that is included in the definition of the law," the ruling said.
The court is aware that the Facebook network is different from the newspaper, but notes: "This is not information printed in writing, as was customary in the past to bring a newspaper to print, but times have changed, technology has developed, and today almost every newspaper, daily or otherwise, publishes an online edition in addition to a printed edition.
""Based on the above, posts in the Facebook group should be considered advertising in the media, and therefore the defendant is liable for the tort of defamation, even in the case where a particular advertisement was uploaded by another person, because he can determine whether a particular post will remain on the Internet, or be removed from it.".
The judge also mentioned that as the administrator of the Facebook group, the defendant could have removed the posts against the plaintiff at any given moment, and anyone who did not do so would be held liable.
