Single Publication Rule
Under s.8 Defamation Act 2013, the limitation period for defamation runs from the date of first publication, not each subsequent access — preventing perpetual liability for online content.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Before the 2013 Act, every fresh access to an online article could, in principle, start a new one-year limitation period running, so a publisher could remain at risk of a defamation claim indefinitely. Section 8 addresses this: it applies where a person publishes a statement to the public and subsequently publishes that statement, or one substantially the same, again.
Where the section applies, any cause of action against the person for defamation in respect of the subsequent publication is to be treated as having accrued on the date of the first publication — so the limitation clock runs from when the material first went up, not from each later viewing. The protection is not unlimited, however: the section does not apply to the subsequent publication if the manner of that publication is materially different from the manner of the first publication, for example where a story is given much greater prominence on republication.
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Official sources
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