Libertà d'informazione e reputazione: Sullivan e i suoi nemici

Freedom of information and reputation: Sullivan and its foes The essay aims to shed light on the relationship between the law of defamation and the freedom of information before and after 1964, year in which the Supreme Court decided the landmark First Amendment case New York Times v. Sullivan. The analysis focuses on the requirements laid down by Sullivan in the case in which the victim of defamation has the status of public official, in particular the one of actual malice, and on the subsequent stream of decisions following Sullivan which have widened the room of immunity for libelous information. In recent cases — Shkelzen Berisha v. Guy Lawson and Tah v. Global Witness Publishing, Inc. — two dissenting judges show a growing dissatisfaction with the legal solution laid down in 1964. The major reason for the unease with the Sullivan case has to be found in the change affecting the information media market context. More and more a new approach is urged in order to deal effectively with the issues arising from the conflict among freedom of information and reputation.