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【Abstract】It is admitted that Although the use of social networking services has been shown to produce a numerous benefits in people’s lives such as having access to more information， expressing themselves freely and facilitating supportive relationships， but some illegal actions like defamatory misbehavior caused by users on social networking sites may put individuals’ reputations in jeopardy. This article explores the current defamation act concerned with online defamation， the libel law reform， and key changes of new Defamation Act 2013 for online as well as its controversial areas.
【Key words】English country defamation law online microblog
Introduction
The development of Internet technologies， particularly social media， has profoundly altered the way people communicate and interact. Compared with the communication in the real world， people have a greater sense of freedom of expression when using online networks. It is admitted that Although the use of social networking services has been shown to produce a numerous benefits in people’s lives， but some illegal actions like defamatory misbehavior caused by users on social networking sites may put individuals’ reputations in jeopardy.
Defamation， one of online illegal actions， is that any libelous and slanderous statements which have the intention of damaging and harming individuals， businesses or entities’ reputations made by the publication. The defamation law is the mechanism to protect people whose reputations have been unjustly attacked. There is a libel law， also known as the Defamation Act 1996， applying to the Internet the same way it does to newspapers and TV stations.
This article explores the current defamation act concerned with online defamation， the libel law reform， and key changes of new Defamation Act 2013 for online as well as its controversial areas.
1. Development of social media
Tim Berners-Lee， the inventor of the world wide web， bears a dream that the web would become a social tool to allow people to be connected regardless of technical skills in mind （Berners， 2000）.The emergency and spread of social web technologies have made his dream a reality. Generally， social media technologies are referred to social networking sites， wikis， forums， blogs and microblogging sites （Osatuyi，2012）. These computer-mediated communication technologies are not only to connect people but to share user-generated content （Lewis， 2010）. Exchanging views and perspectives becomes easier and more convenient than ever before as technologies advance. The biggest attractiveness of the Internet is the anonymous speech which encourages people to express opinions freely and even views what they would have never expressed （Vamialis， 2013）. For example， twitter is a microblogging service that allows people to say anything that they are willing to within 140 characters and also is often regarded as a useful medium to learn about news providing quick updates. However， by encouraging free speech and disseminating user-generated content， the Internet platform makes it easier for individuals to have the risk of defamation because they say and do whatever they feel like without thinking of consequences. What is worse， most Internet users are unaware of their online illegal activities related to defamation. The definition of defamation and the current online defamation regulation will be presented next. 2. Current Defamation Act for online
There are two forms of defamation： libel and slander. “Libel is committed by publishing a defamatory statement in permanent form， while slander covers defamatory statements in transient forms， such as unrecorded speech”（Quinn，2013，p.222）. Technically， an action for defamation follows these three elements： 1）. “the statement complained of was defamatory—defamation； 2）.The statement referred to the claimant—identification； 3）.The statement was published—publication” （Quinn， 2013， p.222）. Defamation on media field usually involve libel， and online defamation is about libelous statements of the publication made on the Internet via communicative platforms. Whether an online activity should be accused of defamation depends on the behavior meeting the basic defamation criteria as mentioned above.
Due to the significant role ISPs（Internet Service Providers） play in the networking environment， the issue of ISPs will be introduced. According to Vakul Sharma （2006）， he defines an internet service provider as an interactive network service. The function of ISPs is to offer a platform for information exchange. In other words， Internet service providers act as an ‘information carrier’ or ‘information publisher’. In most cases， ISPs take the risk of being sued for defamation because they allow the third party like individuals to post information freely on the Internet. Defamatory statements are transmitted by ISPs in various ways （Stuckey， 1996）. For example， a statement posted on a bulletin board system or a statement made on social websites provided by the ISPs.
3. Libel law reform
3.1 Background and reasons of reform
The law of defamation in the United Kingdom remaining to this day has gone through a 400-year common law evolution. From the Libel Act 1845， British libel laws were generally revised every half-century， there were the Law of Libel Amendment Act 1888， the Defamation Act 1952， and the defamation Act 1996 （Douglas
【Key words】English country defamation law online microblog
Introduction
The development of Internet technologies， particularly social media， has profoundly altered the way people communicate and interact. Compared with the communication in the real world， people have a greater sense of freedom of expression when using online networks. It is admitted that Although the use of social networking services has been shown to produce a numerous benefits in people’s lives， but some illegal actions like defamatory misbehavior caused by users on social networking sites may put individuals’ reputations in jeopardy.
Defamation， one of online illegal actions， is that any libelous and slanderous statements which have the intention of damaging and harming individuals， businesses or entities’ reputations made by the publication. The defamation law is the mechanism to protect people whose reputations have been unjustly attacked. There is a libel law， also known as the Defamation Act 1996， applying to the Internet the same way it does to newspapers and TV stations.
This article explores the current defamation act concerned with online defamation， the libel law reform， and key changes of new Defamation Act 2013 for online as well as its controversial areas.
1. Development of social media
Tim Berners-Lee， the inventor of the world wide web， bears a dream that the web would become a social tool to allow people to be connected regardless of technical skills in mind （Berners， 2000）.The emergency and spread of social web technologies have made his dream a reality. Generally， social media technologies are referred to social networking sites， wikis， forums， blogs and microblogging sites （Osatuyi，2012）. These computer-mediated communication technologies are not only to connect people but to share user-generated content （Lewis， 2010）. Exchanging views and perspectives becomes easier and more convenient than ever before as technologies advance. The biggest attractiveness of the Internet is the anonymous speech which encourages people to express opinions freely and even views what they would have never expressed （Vamialis， 2013）. For example， twitter is a microblogging service that allows people to say anything that they are willing to within 140 characters and also is often regarded as a useful medium to learn about news providing quick updates. However， by encouraging free speech and disseminating user-generated content， the Internet platform makes it easier for individuals to have the risk of defamation because they say and do whatever they feel like without thinking of consequences. What is worse， most Internet users are unaware of their online illegal activities related to defamation. The definition of defamation and the current online defamation regulation will be presented next. 2. Current Defamation Act for online
There are two forms of defamation： libel and slander. “Libel is committed by publishing a defamatory statement in permanent form， while slander covers defamatory statements in transient forms， such as unrecorded speech”（Quinn，2013，p.222）. Technically， an action for defamation follows these three elements： 1）. “the statement complained of was defamatory—defamation； 2）.The statement referred to the claimant—identification； 3）.The statement was published—publication” （Quinn， 2013， p.222）. Defamation on media field usually involve libel， and online defamation is about libelous statements of the publication made on the Internet via communicative platforms. Whether an online activity should be accused of defamation depends on the behavior meeting the basic defamation criteria as mentioned above.
Due to the significant role ISPs（Internet Service Providers） play in the networking environment， the issue of ISPs will be introduced. According to Vakul Sharma （2006）， he defines an internet service provider as an interactive network service. The function of ISPs is to offer a platform for information exchange. In other words， Internet service providers act as an ‘information carrier’ or ‘information publisher’. In most cases， ISPs take the risk of being sued for defamation because they allow the third party like individuals to post information freely on the Internet. Defamatory statements are transmitted by ISPs in various ways （Stuckey， 1996）. For example， a statement posted on a bulletin board system or a statement made on social websites provided by the ISPs.
3. Libel law reform
3.1 Background and reasons of reform
The law of defamation in the United Kingdom remaining to this day has gone through a 400-year common law evolution. From the Libel Act 1845， British libel laws were generally revised every half-century， there were the Law of Libel Amendment Act 1888， the Defamation Act 1952， and the defamation Act 1996 （Douglas