Richardson v Facebook

Richardson v Facebook

The claims against Facebook UK Ltd and Google UK Ltd were properly struck out and summary judgment granted because neither company was responsible for the publication of the material complained of, nor did the pleadings or evidence disclose any reasonable basis for attributing liability to them in defamation or under Article 8 ECHR. Google Spain does not extend liability to subsidiaries in these circumstances, and neither defendant is a hybrid public authority. There is no basis for a reference to the CJEU.

Parties
Claimant: Camille Saskia Richardson; Defendant: Facebook UK Limited; Defendant: Google (UK) Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
02 November 2015
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Application for Permission to Appeal and Related Applications After Dismissal at First Instance
Outcome
Appeal refused; applications dismissed
Legal Topics
Liability of Subsidiaries, Responsibility for Publication, Article 8 ECHR, Summary Judgment, Striking Out, Reference to CJEU, Hybrid Public Authority, Limitation in Defamation, Data Protection (contextual)
Defamation Human Rights Civil Procedure Liability of Subsidiaries Responsibility for Publication Article 8 ECHR Summary Judgment Striking Out +4 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Camille Saskia Richardson

Claimant

Facebook UK Limited

Defendant

Google (UK) Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Application for Permission to Appeal and Related Applications After Dismissal at First Instance

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the claimant sued the correct legal entity responsible for the alleged defamatory publications
  2. 2 Whether the subsidiary companies (Facebook UK Ltd, Google UK Ltd) can be liable for content published on platforms operated by parent or other group companies
  3. 3 Whether the claims in defamation and under Article 8 ECHR disclose a reasonable cause of action against the named defendants

Ratio Decidendi

The claims against Facebook UK Ltd and Google UK Ltd were properly struck out and summary judgment granted because neither company was responsible for the publication of the material complained of, nor did the pleadings or evidence disclose any reasonable basis for attributing liability to them in defamation or under Article 8 ECHR. Google Spain does not extend liability to subsidiaries in these circumstances, and neither defendant is a hybrid public authority. There is no basis for a reference to the CJEU.

Court Disposition

Appeal refused; applications dismissed

Orders

  • Permission to appeal refused
  • Applications for reference to CJEU refused