-42reasonable time after they became aware of them was plainly open to them and is a conclusion equally pertinent to the standard of reasonableness discussed in Section L above. The promptness with which the respondents took down the offending postings justifies the finding that they acted properly in accordance with that standard. I therefore conclude that the respondents made good the innocent dissemination defence in respect of the defamatory postings both before and after they came to know of their existence. The appellants’ appeal must therefore be dismissed. However, before leaving this judgment, I wish to deal with aspects of the argument advanced at the hearing concerning the constitutional right to freedom of expression in the present context. N. The constitutional right to freedom of expression 104. It is somewhat to state the obvious to point out that the law has always required a balance to be struck between the right to freedom of expression on the one hand, and the right to have one’s reputation protected against defamation on the other. The rights on both sides of that balance are constitutionally recognized in Hong Kong.90 105. Mr Thomas, however, argued that such balance does not come into the picture in the present case. He submitted that there is no question of restricting freedom of expression on the part of the originators and the respondents since they have fully exercised that freedom in publishing the defamatory statements. He cited Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough in Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd,91 for the proposition that: “There is no human right to disseminate information that is not true. No public interest is served by publishing or communicating misinformation. The working of a democratic society depends on the members of that society, being informed not misinformed. Misleading people and the purveying as facts statements which are not true is destructive of the democratic society and should form no part of such a society. 90 Basic Law, Article 27 and Bill of Rights, Article 16. 91 [2001] 2 AC 127 at 238.