Which court decided it?

Court of Appeal in 2013. Neutral citation: [2013] EWCA Civ 68.

Why does it matter for UK journalists?

Post-notification, a host platform can be a publisher of user-generated defamatory content. A reasonable time to remove is required. Statutory codification followed in Defamation Act 2013 s.5.

Tamiz v Google Inc

[2013] EWCA Civ 68 — Court of Appeal, 2013

Last reviewed: 14 July 2026Next review due: 14 January 2027

What the court held

The Court of Appeal held that Google, as host of a Blogger platform, could in principle become a publisher of defamatory comments after being notified of them and failing to remove within a reasonable period. Refined the intermediary-liability framework.

Key rulings

Post-notification, a host platform can be a publisher of user-generated defamatory content.
A reasonable time to remove is required.
Statutory codification followed in Defamation Act 2013 s.5.

Topics

DefamationIntermediary liabilityuser-generated-content

Acts cited

Defamation Act 2013

Authoritative source

Read the full judgment on BAILII (British and Irish Legal Information Institute):

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2013/68.html

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Case summaries are drafted by UK JournoHub Editorial for practising UK journalists. They are not legal advice. Always consult primary sources and, for high-risk stories, take specialist legal advice.