Criminal Law
Criminal Defamation
The criminal offence of making or publishing an imputation about a person, knowing or believing it will harm their reputation.
Criminal defamation covers spoken or written statements — including on social media — made with the intent (or knowledge that it is likely) to harm someone's reputation, without falling under one of the recognised exceptions such as truth stated for public good or fair comment.
It exists alongside civil defamation, where the remedy sought is damages rather than punishment; the same set of facts can sometimes give rise to both a criminal complaint and a civil suit.
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