Supreme Court ruling clarifies limits of freedom of expression in social media

NEITHER the Constitution nor freedom of expression protects a person who posts defamatory material concerning another on social media, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled in turning down an appeal by a farmer after a Facebook post by him sparked death threats against an attorney.

- ZELDA VENTER

The dispute arose between Pretoria attorney Pieter Strydom and farmer Francois Harman after the latter accused Strydom in a Facebook post of targeting white farmers.

Strydom, upset by the contents of the post, obtained an urgent interdict against Harman to stop harassing him.

The high court found that Harman and his friends and followers on his Facebook account posted and published offensive and life-threatening defamatory statements concerning Strydom.

Some of the postings were found by the high court to amount to a smear campaign.

The high court ordered Harman to remove the published material from his Facebook account, which referred to Strydom.