Vigo court sanctions internet user for posting insults against man on social media
A criminal judge in Vigo imposed a fine of €1,260 on a user who published derogatory remarks against a man on a digital platform.
Vigo court sanctions internet user for posting insults against man on social media
A judge of the criminal court in Vigo has imposed a fine of €1,260 on a resident of the city after determining that she committed a defamation offence by publishing derogatory messages against a man on a digital platform.
The judgment states that the defendant accessed an Instagram profile intended to collect accounts of assault and gender-based violence, and used that space to disparage an acquaintance. In her post, she attributed to him descriptions such as "sexual predator" and "junkie", among other epithets which the judge qualified as clearly defamatory.
According to the judicial ruling, the expressions chosen by the accused were "objectively insulting" and showed a deliberate intention to damage the reputation and dignity of the person referred to. The fact that these messages were disseminated through a social network, with the public reach that this entails, increased the gravity of the conduct, as it went beyond the private sphere to reach an indeterminate audience.
The legal representative of the injured party requested that, in addition to the monetary sanction, a ban on communication between both parties be imposed. The court dismissed this request as there were no recorded circumstances indicating a risk to the safety or integrity of the injured party that would make such a protective measure necessary.
The judgment highlights that Vigo courts are vigilant in monitoring behaviour in the digital environment and that defamation committed on social media can have criminal consequences, regardless of the context in which it is formulated.
Source: ABC
Source: ABC