The case
Due to the celebrity status of Hopkins, the facts of the case have been widely reported in the news and the papers over the weekend. In a nutshell, the case surrounds two tweets sent by Hopkins to Monroe. Monroe has alleged that the tweets sent by Hopkins accused her of vandalising a war memorial or indeed suggested that she approves/condones such behaviour. It has been reported that Hopkins argued that Twitter was the social media equivalent of the Wild West and, as such, anything goes.
Following a contested trial, Mr Justice Warby, the recently appointed presiding judge of the new Media and Communication List in the High Court, ruled that the serious harm threshold had been satisfied and stated that “the tweets complained of have a tendency to cause harm to the claimant’s reputation in the eyes of third parties, of a kind that would be serious for her”. The serious harm threshold was introduced by the Defamation Act 2013 to act as a gateway against frivolous claims. However, this is one of the first cases to apply the new threshold to Twitter. Our previous e-briefing on the serious harm threshold addresses what constitutes “serious harm” and can be found here.
Our view
This case is further evidence of the emergence of a new arena for litigation and organisations of all shapes and sizes need to ensure that they are alive to the risks involved in using social media. In a matter of minutes, Hopkins sent two tweets that have ended up costing her £24,000 in damages and an interim costs order of over £100,000. It has been speculated that when combining the damages award, the amount Hopkins will have to pay in contribution to Monroe’s legal costs and her own legal costs, Hopkins could be facing a total bill of around £300,000. An expensive few minutes by anyone's standards!
We cannot forget that social media has become one of the key avenues of communication between organisations, their customers and the wider public and that there are clear benefits of using social media for this purpose. With an ever-shifting preference by customers to communicate via social media, an organisation that doesn't maximise their use of social media could be left behind.
However, as this case has highlighted, there are also risks involved with a communication medium that provides an instant platform for the whole world to see.
It is important that organisations continue to manage the risk, as they do across their entire business, attributable to their interaction with social media. Our previous e-briefing on managing risk with social media can be found here.
In light of this recent case, it would be advisable to review any social media policies and procedures your organisation has, including staff policies, to ensure that it is clear what messages are communicated, and who is authorised to communicate them via social media. This case highlights the potential consequences of a misguided or misaddressed tweet, and organisations should take note to ensure that they are protected against a similar fate.
Should you wish to speak with us about how your organisation currently manages their use of social media or wider reputational risk, please contact Cynyr Rhys. If you would like further information about the work that we do, please visit our website.
As we enter a recession, we have been here before, and a key question is what did we learn and how can we benefit from that learning?
It is anticipated that as lockdown restrictions ease, and particularly with children and young adults returning to education, cases of meningitis will start to rise.
As we continue to emerge from lockdown measures and deal with local measures and the short and long term economic impact of Covid-19, local authorities will need to re-assess how services will be delivered for years to come.
The Government first announced plans for a shared ownership right to buy in October 2019. At the time the sector raised concerns about the impact the plans would have on housing associations ability to borrow. An election and a pandemic later the Government announced, during the CIH Housing Festival last week, the return of the right to shared ownership as part of its Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).
Two final pieces of the possession jigsaw have been published on 15 September 2020. Mr Justice Knowles’ working group on possession proceedings has issued its guidance on the “overall arrangements” for possession proceedings.
One change proposed by the Building Safety Bill is the introduction of a duty holder regime, which will see statutory responsibility for the safety of higher risk buildings placed on key individuals
Throughout this pandemic, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been publishing various “Statements on Coronavirus” (Statements) which provide guidance on consumer rights during this time.
A recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the UK means new measures are being put in place in an effort to reduce the risk of a second wave. Whilst the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt, it is important to remain focused on the sector’s road to recovery.
Sometimes half an hour at a conference gives you the reality that has been staring you in the face all along. That was my experience watching “Change is on the Horizon”
Following our recent e-briefing on Possession Notices, Helen Tucker and Emilie Pownall from our housing litigation team discuss the impact of the changes on social landlords.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.