網際網路上妨害名譽罪之研究

The Criminal Offences of Defamatory Statements on the Internet

許汎宣(Fan-Hsuan Hsu)

指導教授 ： 范建得

國立清華大學/科技管理學院/科技法律研究所/碩士(2014年)

摘要

網際網路去中心化、匿名與跨國界之特性，使得網路成為時下熱門的通訊傳播媒體外，亦成為孕育各種網路犯罪的溫床。其中，網路妨害名譽之案件數量在近幾年有大幅成長的趨勢，突顯網路空間中個人名譽與言論自由基本權衝突之情形更甚以往。鑑於使用網路此一現代科技與他人溝通或發表個人意見常不自覺觸法的情形下，了解網路此一新興科技對於我國刑法妨害名譽罪章之認定究竟帶來何種影響，便有其研究實益。
關於網路妨害名譽之爭議，本文將焦點置於匿名性、去中心化、使用成本低廉與跨國界等網路特性對於網路言論之影響，以呈現網路妨害名譽案件之特殊性，希冀理出審理網路妨害名譽案件的衡量標準。此外，本文亦從美國法之觀點探討各種新興的網路妨害名譽議題，舉凡於Facebook按讚或轉載他人文章是否構成妨害名譽，並介紹美國通訊端正法第230條「善良撒馬利亞人」之網路業者免責條款，探討網路服務提供者是否必須為非出於己的不法言論負擔法律責任，同時亦從我國實務觀點分析網路服務提供者是否負有監控義務，與刪除不當言論之作為義務。由於網路心得文、抱怨文亦為現行常見的網路內容，故企業或專門職業技術人員動輒對網友發表之網路心得文提起妨害名譽訴訟之情形，是否有構成美國所謂「策略性訴訟」之疑慮，本文亦將作一綜合探討。

關鍵字

網際網路 ； 匿名性 ； 言論自由 ； 網路犯罪 ； 妨害名譽 ； 社群網站 ； 臉書 ； 讚 ； 轉載 ； 網路服務提供者 ； 通訊端正法 ； 善良撒馬利亞人條款 ； 策略性訴訟

並列摘要

The characteristics of the Internet such as decentralization, anonymity and transnationality have made the Internet become a popular communication media nowadays, as well as the hotbeds of the cybercrimes. Meanwhile there is a substantial growing trend in the rise of defamation lawsuits on the Internet in recent years, highlighting the conflicts of personal reputation and the fundamental right of freedom of expression in cyberspace more than ever. Given the use of the Internet to communicate with others or express personal opinions often unconsciously against the law, it will be very beneficial to understand what kind of impacts on Taiwan’s criminal law the Internet brings.

In considering of the controversy of the defamatory statements over the Internet, this article will focus on how the anonymity, decentralization, low cost of using the Internet, and transnationality affect the Internet speech, to present the particularity of defamatory statements in cyberspace and hope to figure out the standard of handling the defamation lawsuits on the Internet. Furthermore, the emerging issues of defamation in cyberspace from the perspective of American law were also explored. These issues include discussing whether clicking “Like” on a Facebook page or repost others articles constitute defamatory statements or not, and introducing section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) which contains a broad immunity for “Good Samaritan” content filter, not only to analysis whether Internet Service Providers (ISP) should be held liable for the torts and crimes of the individuals who use their servers, but also discuss whether ISPs should be responsible for filtering indecent or offensive material, and their obligation of deleting inappropriate content from the courts’ point of view in Taiwan. Additionally, due to the popularity of griping speech on the Internet, there is a growing trend of businesses and professionals suing consumers who griped about them online. This article will also introduce the concept of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in order to examine whether these cases constitute SLAPP or not.

並列關鍵字

Internet ； anonymity ； freedom of expression ； cybercrime ； defamation ； social network sites ； Facebook ； Like ； repost ； ISP ； the Communications Decency Act (CDA) ； Good Samaritan statute ； Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)

參考文獻

司法院大法官釋字第145號解釋及理由書。

司法院大法官釋字第509號解釋及理由書。

司法院大法官釋字第509號解釋，蘇俊雄大法官、吳庚大法官之協同意見書。

臺灣高雄地方法院95年度簡上字第843號刑事判決。

王正嘉（2012），〈網際網路上之刑法妨害名譽罪適用與界線－以實體與虛擬的二分社會論之〉，《政大法學評論》，第128期，頁143-202。