Law Commons^™

Our ability to communicate instantly across geographic borders and to connect with old friends using social media has changed the way we think about community, moving us from a simple geographic analysis to a much more difficult determination. The speed with which messages travel can amplify the amount of damage to reputation by increasing the number of people who come into contact with defamatory speech. As a result, the traditional rules of defamation law must change to accommodate changes in how we communicate. The Internet has complicated the distinction between public and private figures in modern defamation law—a distinction critical …