Take Down Notices

• Author: David A. Potts
• Profession: Barrister, Bar of Ontario
• Pages: 221-223

221

 : Take Down Notices

A. INTRODUCTION

e law of defamation at common law and in statutes encourages the res olu-

tion of defamation actions through apologies, retractions, corrections, and

statements of contradiction and explanation. Apologies can mitigate or even

eliminate certa in types of da mages if made in compliance wit h the relevant

statutes. Conversely a refusal to apologize or retract can aggravate damages or

even contribute to the imposition of punit ive damages. e subject of retrac-

tions and apologies a re covered in deta il in Roger D. McConchie and David

A. Potts, Canadian Libel and Sl ander Actions (Toronto: Irwin Law, ),

Chapter , pp. –. Consequently, the law will not be repeated here.

e Internet is well-suited to resolving disputes through retractions and

apologies. It is possible to tailor the online retraction to exactly the sa me

audience and even a broader audience than the original statement.

B. TAKE DOWN NOTICES IN SOUTH AFR ICA AND THE UK

Take down notices a re particularly valuable. Regrettably, they have not yet

been incorporated into Canadian law. South Africa and the U K have legisla-

tion relating to take down notices.

) South Africa

e take down notication sec tion of South Africa’s Electronic Communica-

tions and Transactions Act 2002, No.  of , s.  states as follows: