The Application of criminal defamation to inflammatory comments made on social networking sites: a new role for an old law?

Criminal defamation has for many years been considered an antiquated law - a dinosaur awaiting extinction. The main grounds for criticism have been the perceived lack of likelihood that defamatory comments can create a real risk of harm, and the propensity of the action to unduly suppress freedom of speech. As a consequence, the law has fallen out of favour and has had limited application in recent years. However, the widespread use and popularity of social networking sites, and the significant potential for inflammatory comments made on such sites, makes it timely to examine the relevance of the law.