Keith-Smith v Williams
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| Keith-Smith v Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | High Court of Justice |
| Decided | 21 March 2006 |
| Citation | [2006] EWHC 860 (QB) |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Macduff J |
Keith-Smith v Williams is a 2006 English libel case that confirmed that existing libel laws applied to internet discussion.[1]
It was important because it was seen as the first UK internet libel case that represented two individuals rather than one party being an Internet service provider,[2] and was the first British case involving a successful prosecution of an individual poster within a chat room.[3][4] The Manchester Evening News claimed that this contradicted a common assumption among bloggers that it was the publisher and not the writer who was responsible for any libel claims that they may generate.[5]
Mark Stephens, the head of media law at Stephens Finer Innocent, characterised the case as "a dark day for freedom of speech with broad implications",[6] which was denied by the plaintiff Michael Keith Smith.[7]
The case involved unemployed ex-teacher Tracy Williams falsely accusing a former UKIP candidate, Michael Keith Smith, of being a sexual offender and racist bigot.[8] Williams had posted as Gosforth.[9]
The court ordered her to pay £10,000 plus costs.[10][11] Although the accusations were made in a Yahoo discussion group with about 100 members, damages were awarded as the remarks were available throughout the world.[12]