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A Matter Of Motive: Malice In The Law Of Torts In The Age Of Connectivity, Greg Bowley

Dalhousie Law Journal

To meet the challenges posed by the novel modes of interpersonal relationships of contemporary society, Canadian tort law must develop a general principle of liability for the intentional infliction of harm. This principle would recognize the normatively-significant common thread of the wrongdoer’s intention to cause harm to another person in phenomena as varied as doxing, swatting, revenge porn, cyberstalking, impersonation, trolling, and harassment. The recent development of discrete, context-specific torts in response to problematic social media conduct is an inherently limited approach to novel interpersonal conduct. However, it also offers an opportunity for the enunciation of a general principle of …