‘Absolutely not’
Media leaders reject call to reinstate criminal libel; say civil remedies sufficient to tackle online abuse
Published:Monday | December 1, 2025 | 12:05 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter
Senior figures within Jamaica’s media landscape have strongly rejected a call from a government lawmaker to reinstate criminal libel, arguing that such a move would roll back hard-won press freedoms secured under the Defamation Act of 2013.
Former Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte, now a government backbencher, on Tuesday urged Parliament to consider restoring the offence of “criminal libel” – a provision repealed some 13 years ago.
Citing rising incidents of online bullying, harassment, stalking, and defamatory attacks, she questioned whether reinstating criminal penalties might be necessary “in this age of unregulated social media”.
Press Association of Jamaica President Dashan Hendricks Hendricks countered that the modern legislative framework, which the PAJ and the Media Association Jamaica strongly advocated for, deliberately removed colonial-era criminal sanctions in favour of civil remedies. Reintroducing criminal penalties, he warned, would chill investigative journalism, weaken public accountability, and risk turning regulators into censors, ultimately undermining Jamaica’s democratic principles.
He noted that Jamaica already has robust tools to address online misconduct. The Cybercrimes Act provides severe penalties – including imprisonment of up to 15 years – for malicious communications and related offences, without criminalising free expression.
At the same time, Media Association Jamaica Chairman Gary Allen also pushed back against the suggestion, calling it a retrograde step.
“With all the respect that the former constitutional affairs minister deserves in her right as an MP (member of parliament), [we should] absolutely not [go] down that road at all again,” Allen declared.
“We have fought too long and too hard to remove the criminalising of the spoken word for us in 2025 to be talking about going back to creating a criminal statute for free speech on something that may be a difficulty,” he contended.
Allen argued that if there are issues relating to cyberbullying or harmful online activity, lawmakers can address them without reviving legislation that would impinge on free speech, particularly within established media channels.
He noted that for years, both local and global media have resisted retrograde attempts to criminalise speech. Under current laws, aggrieved individuals can seek redress through civil defamation suits and may be awarded significant damages if successful. But reinstating criminal libel, he warned, would mean that in addition to civil penalties, journalists could face imprisonment if found guilty of defamation.
“We couldn’t support that,” he insisted.
Malahoo Forte’s comments came after Minister of Gender Affairs Olivia Grange delivered a statement in recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. She said, “Increasingly, data show incidents of online bullying, harassment, stalking and other forms of attacks including defamatory statements.”
Against that background she asked: “Will the minister consider reintroducing into Jamaica’s statute law criminal libel in this age of unregulated social media as one of the tools of protection?”
Responding on Grange’s behalf, Dr Andrew Wheatley, a minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, said legislation is already in place to protect Jamaicans from online abuse. He added that the Government is reviewing the Cybercrimes Act to strengthen protections against social media-based attacks.
Parliament abolished criminal defamation in 2013, with both the Senate and House giving unanimous approval to the Defamation Act. The law replaced the 19th-century Libel and Slander Act and the 1963 Defamation Act, repealed criminal libel, and shortened the limitation period for bringing actions from six years to two.
At the close of the 49th Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Montego Bay in July, CARICOM Chairman Dr Andrew Holness said the regional body is moving towards a legal framework to safeguard citizens in the digital space.
“We also had exchanges on legislation for online safety and protection of young people from online abuse, cyberbullying and exploitation. In recognition of the importance of this issue, we have mandated the legal affairs committee to look at a proposal for a model law for the digital safety of Caribbean people,” Holness, the Jamaican prime minister, said in July.