A Critical Analysis of the Right of Reply in Online Media

The recent technological and sociological developments call into question traditional legal concepts. One of the most compelling issues at this moment is the concept of the right of reply in the online media environment. It provides victims of "press" crimes with a better legal remedy, but the transposition of the concept as used in the context of the traditional media (printed press and audiovisual press) to the online environment raises many questions, mainly because of the specific characteristics of the borderless internet. Despite the objections, there is a clear tendency to introduce the concept in the online media as recent legal initiatives taken on European, international and national level point out.