Slander??

[jonah hart]

Hi guys hope u can help me... My brothers ex as changed his password on his facebook account an putting slanderes comments up about him ... She's very bitter that he won't take her back! I've copyed an pasted them to my computer an printed them off can I take it to the police? Would they do anything about it? She's now taken his fb off altogether an he's opened up a new account but the things she's put have not just been nasty but pure lies is this slander? Advice please :-)

[factor-fiction]

I can't see the police wasting any time on this. You could ask a solicitor to help you claim damages but unless you are an A list celebrity who would be damaged by this I think you'd be wasting your time.

[Eve]

I guess it would depend on what was actually said, whether it's petty stuff or serious allegations.

If she has taken it off and is, hopefully, leaving him alone is it worth causing all the agro, cost etc... that could be caused by going to the police?

Hopefully they can put it behind them and move on.

[jonah hart]

Thanks guys .. It was very bad stuff saying he was a smackhead an that he beat her up !!! He's never ever took drugs an she beat him we've photos to prove it ... She's harrasing him with calls an txts an she's started with me iv had 15 in an hour... There very aggressive but not an actual threat .. I'll sleep on it an hope for a peacefull day tmoro.. Thanks again ..

[Buenchico]

Libel (which is the term applied to 'published' defamatory statements, rather than slander) is a civil offence, not a criminal one, so the police wouldn't get involved purely because of the defamation.

My post here is relevant to that civil offence:
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Law/Civil/Quest ion782024.html

However this is also relevant. Quote:
"(1) A person must not pursue a course of conduct�
(a) which amounts to harassment of another, and
(b) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other"
Section 1, Protection from Harassment Act 1997

It's far easier to take a civil action for harassment than it is for libel. A successful action can lead to an order to pay damages for (among other things) anxiety caused by the harassment. It can also lead to an injunction against the offender, preventing further harassment. (Breaching the injunction could lead to up to 5 years imprisonment).

I doubt that you'd be able to get the police interested in pursuing a criminal enquiry but it's just possible that they might consider that the provisions of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 are relevant. (If a criminal offence has been committed it can result in a fine of up to �5000 and/or 6 months imprisonment):
http://tinyurl.com/37tapz

Chris

[fredpuli47]

Further to Buenchico's excellent reply, don't Facebook themselves have rules about slanderous,foul or abusive content and rules about passwords etc ? If they don't they are opening themselves up to being the carriers of such material, inadvertently or not, which could, conceivably leave them open to action. First stop might be to contact them to have the material taken down and , if possible and relevant in any case, subsequent material blocked.(You may gather I'm not technically minded, but that seems plain!)

[STIDW]

Repeated telephoning can amount to molestation. "Molesting" is considered synonymous with "pester" - "to cause trouble, to vex, to annoy, to put to inconvenience" under the Family Law Act 1996 and " a person is associated with another person" may apply for a non-molestation order .

There are three principles must be considered by the Judge when deciding whether to grant an Order:

1. There must be evidence of molestation.

2. The Applicant must need protection.

3. Judge must be satisfied "on the balance of probabilities" that the Court's intervention is required to control the behaviour complained of.

[happyjo]

An ISP can be held responsible for another person's libellous comments. Your brother needs to put Facebook on notice that he is being defamed via their site. Tell him to demand they remove the offending comments immediately.

Once they are informed they will act. ( I studied internet defamation and completed my dissertation on this topic) There are lots of cases which back up your brother's demands ...cant remember them all but the Demon Internet case springs to mind) tell him to google that case and read thru the details

Good luck