Reform Libel Law To Bolster Free Speech

Text of the Policy

 * The Pirate Party will reform Canadian defamation laws to make truth an absolute defence against charges of defamation.
 * We will protect authors and/or publishers who repeat a claim provided they had good reason to believe it to be true and have evidence to support it.
 * Evidence, no matter how a third party obtained it, cannot be excluded from the defense’s case as long as the defendant had no part in it being obtained.
 * Reinforce protection for hosting platforms from liability for the speech of their users.

Rationales
Canadian defamation law needs to be improved. They currently present an unacceptable risk to free speech. We will make it clear that the truth is an absolute defence against any defamation claim and significantly reduce the burden and costs faced by defendants in defamation cases.

Snippet of Discussions

 * Truth is currently not an absolute defence under the Canadian Defamation Law.
 * Politicians often targets press with defamation as a means of intimidating them into silence. Small publishers or independent journalist often cannot afford the litigation cost.
 * There is also misunderstanding of what a platform is and the hosting or service providers are often being sued for post residing in their system that have nothing to do with them.

Possible Misinformations
Myth:  Fact:

Related News or Articles

 * Canadian Defamation Law (Wiki)

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