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DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS RELATING TO ISSUES OF BROAD PUBLIC INTEREST POSTED ON FACEBOOK MAY BE ENCOMPASSED BY THE ANTI-SLAPP STATUTE; HERE, HOWEVER, THE STATEMENTS (ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE) RELATED TO A PURELY PRIVATE MATTER AND, THEREFORE, WERE NOT ENCOMPASSED BY THE STATUTE (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Love, determined (1) Facebook is a “public forum” within the meaning of the anti-SLAPP statute, and (2) the allegedly defamatory statements defendants posted on Facebook involved a “purely private matter,” not an issue of broad public interest, and therefore was not encompassed aby the anti-SLAPP statute. Therefore plaintiff’s defamation per se cause of action properly survived dismissal:

… [T]he defendants … posted a series of responses to a post on the personal Facebook page of the plaintiff … alleging that the plaintiff had sexually abused [one of the defendants] approximately 17 years prior when she was 4 years old … . * * *

Based upon the intent of the Legislature to redefine New York’s anti-SLAPP statute as broadly as possible, and the interpretation in decisions by other state courts of their similar state anti-SLAPP statutes defining Facebook and other social media applications as public forums, we conclude that Facebook is a public forum within the meaning of Civil Rights Law § 76-a(1). …

… [T]his action is not subject to the anti-SLAPP statute because the defendants’ statements published on the plaintiff’s Facebook page concerned “a purely private matter” … and were “directed only to a limited, private audience” … . Although the defendants made generic reference to issues of broad public interest, their primary focus was not an issue of broad public interest. Nelson v Ardrey, 2024 NY Slip Op 04147, Second Dept 8-7-24

Practice Point: Facebook is a “public forum” within the meaning of the anti-SLAPP statute.

Practice Point: Statements which relate to purely private matters, here Facebook posts alleging sexual abuse, as opposed to statements relating to a broad public interest, are not encompassed by the anti-SLAPP statute.

 

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