Law / United Kingdom

Defamation Act 2013, section 5 (Operators of websites)

Defamation Act 2013, s. 5

In force since 1 Jan 2014.

An intermediary liability rule binding public and private bodies.

Obligation class

Disclosure

As of 30 September 2026.

What it requires

• Rely on section 5 as the operator of a website when an action for defamation is brought over a statement someone else posted on it; the Act extends to England and Wales only.
• To rely on the defence, be able to show that you were not the operator who posted the statement.
• Respond to every notice of complaint as the Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 require: the defence is defeated if the claimant shows that it was not possible to identify the poster, that the claimant gave you a notice of complaint in relation to the statement, and that you failed to respond to it in accordance with the Regulations.
• Do not act with malice in relation to the posting of a statement, because the defence is defeated if the claimant shows that you did. Moderating the statements others post does not by itself defeat it.
• Recognise a notice of complaint by its contents: it must specify the complainant's name and email address, set out the statement and explain why it is defamatory of the complainant, specify where on the website the statement was posted, set out the meaning the complainant attributes to it, set out the aspects the complainant believes are factually inaccurate or opinions not supported by fact, confirm that the complainant does not have sufficient information about the poster to bring proceedings, and confirm whether the complainant consents to your providing the poster with the complainant's name and email address.
• If a notice complains that a statement on your website is defamatory of the complainant but lacks some of that information, still treat it as a notice of complaint. Within 48 hours of receiving it, notify the complainant in writing that it does not comply with section 5(6)(a) to (c) of the Act and regulation 2, and what those requirements are.
• If you have a means of contacting the poster, meaning one that includes private electronic communication such as email or private messaging, send the poster within 48 hours of receiving the notice of complaint a copy of it, altered to conceal the complainant's name and address if the complainant has not consented to your providing them. In the same communication, notify the poster in writing that the statement may be removed from the locations specified in the notice unless the poster responds in writing by the deadline you state, which must be the 5th day after the day you send the notification, and that the poster's name and address will not be released to the complainant unless the poster consents or a court orders you to.
• Treat the poster's response as complete only if it says whether the poster wants the statement removed from the locations specified in the notice and, where the poster does not, gives the poster's full name, the postal address at which the poster resides or carries on business, and whether the poster consents to your providing those details to the complainant.
• If you have no means of contacting the poster, remove the statement from the locations specified in the notice of complaint within 48 hours of receiving the notice.
• Within 48 hours of receiving a notice of complaint, send the complainant a written acknowledgement stating, where you contacted the poster, that you have acted in accordance with paragraph 2 of the Schedule and, where you removed the statement because you have no means of contacting the poster, that it has been removed. This step does not apply where the repeated-posting rule below applies.
• If the poster does not respond by the deadline, remove the statement within 48 hours of the end of the period and notify the complainant in writing that it has been removed. If the poster responds without the required information, do the same within 48 hours of receiving the response; a name or postal address that a reasonable website operator would consider obviously false counts as missing.
• If the poster responds in time and wishes the statement removed, remove it within 48 hours of receiving the response and notify the complainant in writing that it has been removed.
• If the poster responds in time and does not wish the statement removed, tell the complainant in writing within 48 hours of receiving the response that the poster does not wish it removed and that it has not been removed. Give the complainant the poster's name or address in writing if the poster consented, and otherwise notify the complainant in writing that the poster did not consent.
• Where the same complainant has sent you notices of complaint on two or more previous occasions about a statement conveying the same or substantially the same imputation, posted on the same website by the same person, each time removed under the Schedule, and says so when sending a further notice, remove the statement within 48 hours of receiving that notice without following the steps above.
• Treat a statement as removed within the time allowed if another person removed it from the location before that time elapsed.

When LexLint raises it

When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.

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