Checklist · Defamation & Media Law
Digital intermediary liability map for an online publication (Defamation Act s 31A)
Map of every party in an online publication path (author, poster, page owner, platform, search engine, host) against the s 31A digital intermediary defence: accessible complaints mechanism, written complaint and reasonable access prevention steps.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales, Australia
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the authority it cites, for New South Wales and Australia.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when deciding whom to put on notice or sue for defamatory digital matter, or when advising a platform, forum operator or page administrator on its exposure after receiving a complaint.
Used for these tasks
- Map platform or intermediary liability from the publication path
- Advise on AI platform liability as a publisher
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may trace the publication path from captures and platform information into the map; the lawyer decides each party's role and whether the defence is available.
AI may
- List each party involved in the publication path from the captures, page information and platform terms
- Record whether each party publishes a complaints mechanism and where, with screenshots and dates
- Record what complaints were made, when and how, and what access prevention steps followed
AI must not
- Must not decide whether a party is a digital intermediary, an author or a poster
- Must not decide whether access prevention steps were reasonable
- Must not send complaints to platforms; complaints are approved and sent by the lawyer
The lawyer checks
- Each party's role, including whether an editorial or moderating role affects the defence
- Whether a written complaint meeting s 31A(3) was given, and the steps taken after it
- Which parties to put on notice and in what order, given the defence
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Defamation & Media Law
- Concerns notice under the uniform Defamation Acts (with UK letter-of-claim and NZ variants)
- Response to a concerns notice: further particulars notice, or letter declining to make an offer to make amends
- Defences assessment checklist for a publisher facing a defamation complaint
- Deed of settlement and release for a defamation dispute, with agreed correction, apology and removal terms
- Offer to make amends in response to a concerns notice
- Serious harm evidence table (Defamation Act s 10A)
- Defamation claim assessment checklist for an aggrieved person: publication capture, serious harm, limitation and concerns notice timing
- Pre-publication legal review checklist (including AI-generated text, images and quotes)
- Correction, clarification or apology for publication, with placement and prominence schedule
- Takedown demand for AI-generated deepfake or synthetic content (to poster or platform)
- Complaint notice to a digital intermediary (s 31A accessible complaints mechanism) with UK and US variants
- Newsroom and publisher generative AI and synthetic media policy
All precedents for Defamation & Media Law · Tasks and AI use in this area