The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has decided that the
victim of an “extortion campaign” that used defamatory internet
material should be awarded general, aggravated and punitive damages
totalling $400,000. It is one of the largest Canadian defamation
awards.
The case involved individuals who, trying to extort large
amounts of money, repeatedly threatened and eventually did publish
on the internet false allegations that the victim cheated an
innocent man out of an inheritance. The defamatory statements were
published on at least seven web sites over a number of years.
The extortionists also distributed cards to their victim’s
neighbours to alert them of the web sites’ existence. Every time
the victim stopped the publishing on one web site, the libel
material was published on another.
Under Canadian law, the size of damages awards is influenced by
the breadth of the distribution of the defamatory material. The
court reached its decision considering the nature of the internet,
which instantly transmits information to a worldwide audience.
