Can Publishing a Review on Social Media Be Defamatory?

Since the arrival of social media, publicly expressing an opinion has taken on a whole new dimension. The potential audience for online expressions of an opinion is vast, and companies are now paying close attention to comments published about them online. In some cases, the popular verdict can be devastating.

Businesses sometimes have to go to court when they feel victimized by defamatory and baseless statements about them online. That was the case in the recent matter of École de conduite Hermès v.Dubé, 2017 QCCQ 128941, in which a Facebook user was ordered to pay the plaintiff $3,800.