We are not providing legal advice but we are warning you that you’re responsible for the content you post and there can be legal consequences to you.
Defamation is a legal standard that exists to protect individuals from having their reputation damaged by having false statements communicated about them to a third party; in this case to the Stockhouse community.
For Defamation to apply, we look for (at a minimum) the following:
- A recognizable name of a person or entity in the real world is discussed. The person or entity may be explicitly named or inferred from an obvious connection made (e.g., the CEO of xyz company); and,
- A false statement that cannot be supported by publicly available and credible information; and
- A clear injury to the reputation of the person or entity stated
If Defamation is claimed against a post, it will be reviewed by Stockhouse. If the above criteria are met then it will be removed for that reason. Removing a post, for this reason protects you as a member; it's not being pro-company. You are legally liable for any defamatory statements you make, and an anonymous account online does not necessarily protect you.
Stockhouse is currently an anonymous site from a member's perspective because members do not know the true identity of other members. Defamation, therefore, never applies between members because there is no recognizable person involved, so there can be no legal injury to reputation.
Guidelines
- Do not make false or misleading claims against a company or any person associated with a company
- Never make a claim of criminal behaviour unless you can corroborate it with credible information in your post
- Never make a claim that someone is breaking security regulations unless you can corroborate it with information in your post
- Do make yourself aware of the legal liability of posting statements on any internet forum or discussion board