Courts in Ukraine are already considering cases regarding posts and comments on Facebook, Telegram, and other platforms: the author may be ordered to delete the post, publish a rebuttal, and pay compensation for moral damages.
Courts in Ukraine are already considering cases regarding posts and comments on Facebook, Telegram, and other platforms: the author may be ordered to delete the post, publish a rebuttal, and pay compensation for moral damages.
According to RBC-Ukraine, lawyer Yevhen Bulimenko explained that most often these are civil disputes regarding honor, dignity and business reputation. In such cases, the victim can demand a refutation, removal of the publication and compensation for moral damage. In this case, an important rule applies: the plaintiff must prove that the information is false and that it was spread by a specific person.
A separate block of risks concerns reports of war. Spreading rumors that may cause panic may result in administrative liability under Art. 173-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses with a fine of UAH 170–255 or correctional labor. Criminal liability is possible, in particular, for inciting hatred on national, racial or religious grounds. The consequences also depend on the content of the threats in the comments and the context in which they were published.
The lawyer cites examples of case law where courts have ordered users to delete posts and publish refutations, as well as awarded compensation for false messages on social networks and messengers.
The article also notes that deleting a post does not always eliminate risks if the fact of publication has already been properly recorded. In disputes, two things become key: the ability to identify the author and the presence of evidence of the dissemination of information.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how People’s Deputy Yaroslav Yurchyshyn commented on the ban on the French social network for children under 15. In his opinion, such restrictions are needed in Ukraine, which is defending itself from Russian invasion.
