LONDON — A former British politician wrongly named on Twitter as a pedophile after a false report by the British Broadcasting Corp. may expand the reach of libel law with his threat to sue thousands of people over online posts.
Alastair McAlpine, 70, a former Tory party treasurer, has said he’ll take legal action against about 10,000 people who he says tweeted or retweeted defamatory posts after the BBC wrongly implied he sexually abused a boy in the 1970s.
“With Twitter and the Internet generally, people think it’s not the same as publishing a newspaper, book or magazine, but if you are the author, then you take responsibility for it,”media lawyer Ruth Collard, who isn’t involved in the dispute, said in a phone interview. “It’s no defense to say you had no idea.”
The BBC, the world’s largest broadcaster, agreed to pay McAlpine $295,000 after the Nov. 2 error on its “Newsnight” report, which gave hints about the ex-politician’s identity without naming him. Before the mistake was uncovered, Twitter posts accusing McAlpine were already spreading.
Until now, the highest-profile Twitter libel in Britain involved former New Zealand cricket captain Chris Cairns suing Lalit Modi, ex-chairman of an Indian league, for tweeting that he fixed matches. Modi failed to prove the claim in court, and was ordered in March to pay $143,000 in damages.