Redefining public figures on social media: Application of the public figure doctrine to social media users who became viral as a result of unwanted publicity

• Main Authors: Guanio, Agustini Alfonso, Aldaba, Juan Benedicto Magsakay
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Social media—Law and legislation; Mass media and publicity; Libel and slander; Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_law/25
• Institution: De La Salle University

Libel principles have “lost much of their flavor, drowned and swamped as they have been by the ceaseless cacophony and din of thought and discourse emanating from just about every source and direction.”1 We are now at an age where everyone can be a publisher, a reader, and a listener at the same time. With the pervasive use of social media as new way of communication and an alternative manner of expressing one’s self, it can be said that our laws may be left behind. This Thesis is an in-depth examination of the public figure doctrine, both in the Philippines and its American counterpart, mainly focusing on the implications of its application to private social media users who unintentionally became viral as a result of unwanted publicity. As it presently stands, our laws considered these private social media users as public figures, and as a result, makes them subjected to a more stringent actual malice standard in case they want to file a libel suit against their defamers. Not having thrusted themselves voluntarily into the limelight, they should not be left remediless under our laws. Moreover, this study proposed a three-step inquiry to determine the public figure status of individuals who went viral on social media as a result of unwanted publicity. Lastly, said inquiry will be applied to the similarly situated case of Joaquin Montes, Dr. Joaquin Mendez, Paula “Amalayer girl” Salvosa, and Atty. Christopher Lao as case samples.