03/02/2020 Godfrey v. Demon Internet Limited [1999] EWHC QB 244 (26th March, 1999) (The Hon. Mr Justice Morland)   Mr Justice Morland: JUDGMENT. 1. According to Counsel this is the first defamation action involving the Internet to come up for judicial decision within this jurisdiction. However I had number of American cases cited before me. The United States was in forefront of the early development of the Internet. Care has to be taken before American cases are applied in English defamation cases. The impact of the First Amendment has resulted in a substantial divergence of approach between American and English defamation law. For example in innocent dissemination cases in English law the Defendant publisher has to establish his innocence whereas in American law the Plaintiff who has been libelled has to prove that the publisher was not innocent. Nevertheless the American decisions are educative and instructive as to the workings of the Internet and the problems which arise when defamatory material finds its way onto the Internet. 2. The Plaintiff by his summons (pages 40 and 41 of the Court Bundle) seeks to strike-out parts of the Defence as disclosing no sustainable defence. In short the Defendants' contention is that they were not at common-law the publishers of the Internet posting defamatory of the Plaintiff and that even if they were there is material upon which they can avail themselves of the defence provided by Section 1 of the Defamation Act 1996, "a modern equivalent of the common law defence of innocent dissemination" (See per Lord Mackay L.C. Hansard. 2nd April 1996. Col 214 Defamation Bill (H.L.)). THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND 3. The Plaintiff is a lecturer in physics, mathematics and computer science resident in England. 4. The Defendant is an Internet Service Provider (I.S.P.) carrying on a business in England and Wales. 5. The Internet is a world wide computer network. Three facilities (amongst others) are provided via the Internet: email, the World Wide Web and Usenet. This case is primarily concerned with Usenet. 6. Email is normally electronic mailing of a message from one sender to one recipient. The sender makes a connection to his own local ISP to whom he transmits his Email message. The sender's ISP transmits the message via the Internet to the recipient's ISP. At the recipient's request his local ISP sends the message to the recipient. 7. The World Wide Web provides a facility for one to many publication. "Web Pages" are held at a particular site (usually operated by an ISP) in such a way that they can be accessed by Internet users world wide. The creator of Web pages sends them to his local ISP who stores them. An Internet user can access and download copies of the pages by connecting to his own local ISP and requesting transmission of those pages via the Internet. 8. Usenet is one to many publication from author to readers round the world. An article (known as a posting) is submitted by its author to the Usenet news-server based at his own local ISP (the originating ISP) who disseminates via the Internet the posting. Ultimately it is distributed and stored on the news-servers of every (or nearly every) ISP in the world that offers Usenet facilities to its customers. Internet users world wide can read and download the posting by connecting to their local ISP's news-servers. 9. "Usenet News" is the name given to the system by which postings are sent by Internet users to forums know as "Newsgroups". A posting is readable anywhere in the world by an Internet user whose own ISP offer access to the Newsgroup in question. Newsgroups are organised into broad subject areas known as "Hierarchies". One such hierarchy is the "SOC" hierarchy which contains www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/1999/244.html 2/9