And while Sulph is on the receiving end of a costly lesson, he is one of many. Facebook is often used as a platform to ventilate frustrations against persons or organizations; just blaze them up, and, click/zap, they're toast!
There are even dedicated Facebook pages that comment, often negatively, on established businesses in Belize. So where is the dividing line between fair-comment and Facebook slander? And how far can you go to bring an issue to light without being libelous? We had a lengthy discussion with Mark King's lawyers about the legalities or illegalities of Facebook posting and sharing of content considered defamatory. Here's how that went.
Payal Ghanwani - Attorney for Claimant
"Just like newspaper, Facebook has wide out reach. I would actually say that Facebook is able to reach more persons than the newspaper because Facebook is worldwide. Whereas certain newspapers are published here in Belize, when you take to social media that's a worldwide outreach and in the case at hand, Mr. Sulph had admitted that he reposted his post in Belize Buy and Sell and that group alone has over 141 thousand members or it had at the time of the case."
Reporter
"Does this open the door for a slew of other cases dealing with defamatory matters on Facebook?"
Steve Perrera - Attorney for Claimant
"Well I wouldn't say it opens the door but I would say that if one makes a defamatory statement, he's responsible for the contents of that statement and the effects that follow through on it. One should not make those comments simply because they felt that they were going to be sued by individuals."
Reporter
"There is a Belize Facebook page called business reviews where people often comment on the service or whatever it being on this platform. Are you saying these people that make these seemingly negative comments about any business are opened to being sued?"
Steve Perrera
"I am familiar with the group that you are referring to and I've seen it and I've read it. As indicated just now, if you were to say or comment about the service that was provided to you by any of these companies and it is the truth, then you should be fine because you would have the facts and you would have the evidence, you could state clearly what was your situation when you went to this business, what was your experience and you can comment and there is what exists as fair comment. You can say what transpired and what you feel about it, however if you say something that greatly affects the reputation of that business, knowing that it is untrue and that you don't have any facts to substantiate it, then yes you open yourself to it. Remember before you air something, you're supposed to practice responsible journalism. You're to ensure that the information that you are about to broadcast is true and is correct to the best of your knowledge and you've investigated the matter to that extent."
Reporter
"On Facebook, the majority of people on Facebook are not journalists or investigators."
Steve Perrera
"Correct but they still have the same responsibility to care for the reputation of others and they are still held by that sentiment that they cannot simply say something that is false or repeat something without knowing whether not it's true."
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