Barilaro v Google LLC

In the Federal Court of Australia, Mr John Barilaro brought a defamation claim against Google LLC and Mr Jordan Shanks-Markovina. The dispute centred on defamatory videos uploaded by Mr Shanks on YouTube, which Google continued to host and disseminate. Mr Barilaro, a former Deputy Premier of New South Wales, alleged that the videos contained defamatory, racist, hate speech, and cyber-bullying material that drove him from public office.

The legal issues involved determining whether Google was liable as a publisher after being notified of the defamatory content, whether damages should be discounted due to prior publications, and whether aggravated damages were appropriate given Google's conduct. The court also considered whether Google's actions constituted contempt of court by pressuring Mr Barilaro to abandon the proceedings.

The court held that Google became liable as a publisher after being notified of the defamatory content and subsequently failed to remove it, despite knowing its offensive nature. Google's decision to keep the videos available and its encouragement of Mr Shanks' campaign was seen as improper and lacking in bona fides. The court found that Google's conduct significantly aggravated the harm to Mr Barilaro's reputation and warranted the award of aggravated damages. The court ordered Google to pay Mr Barilaro $715,000 in damages, including prejudgment interest, and referred the conduct of Google and Mr Shanks to the Principal Registrar to consider possible contempt of court proceedings.