What to do if you are accused of public insult and defamation in online comments? A lawyer analyzes the risks, evidence, and settlement strategies for defamation.

Key Points

The defendant committed defamation; first, preserve the context, then decide on the statement taking and settlement strategy.

When accused of public insult or defamation in online comments, Google comments, Threads, Dcard, PTT, or LINE group messages, the first step is not to rush to delete the post or apologize, but to save the complete screenshot, posting time, context, and verification information before determining whether it is public insult, defamation, damage to credit, or just a civil defamation dispute.

• Suitable for people who have received police notices, district prosecutor's summonses, or are worried about being prosecuted for online comments.
• Key keywords include defamation lawyers, public insult, libel, online comments defendants, and Google comments defendants.
• If the issue involves company reputation, posts by former employees, negative customer reviews, or attacks from competitors, civil claims and criminal risks should also be assessed simultaneously.

When someone is sued for defamation online, the first step should not be to rush to delete the post or apologize.

When notified by the police that your comments on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Dcard, PTT, Google comments, LINE groups, or company chat rooms are suspected of being publicly insulting or defamatory, many people's first reaction is to delete the comments, send a private message to apologize, or rush to post a clarification online. These actions are not necessarily wrong, but without first assessing the legal risks, they may cause evidence to disappear, lead to admitting things that shouldn't be admitted, or even escalate the conflict.

The core of online defamation cases is not that the other party's feeling of being hurt necessarily constitutes a crime, nor that you are safe just because you feel you are merely expressing emotions. Prosecutors, police, and courts will consider the content of the statement, its context, the degree of public access on the platform, whether it targets a specific person, whether it involves verifiable facts, whether it has undergone reasonable verification, and the impact of the statement on the social evaluation of others.

Data verification as of July 22, 2026.Articles 309 to 314 of the Criminal LawCommon online defamation cases mainly include public insult, libel, aggravated defamation, and credit impairment. The elements of each charge, the defense, and the settlement strategies are different, and one cannot simply gloss over the issue with "I had no malicious intent" or "I was stating the facts."

What's the difference between public insult and defamation? First, consider whether you're insulting someone or stating a fact.

Public insults typically focus on abstractly degrading a person's character or dignity. For example, directly attacking a specific person with vulgar, humiliating, or derogatory words in a public comment section, if it reaches the point where it can be seen and heard by an unspecified number of people or a large number of people, may fall under the discussion of Article 309 of the Criminal Law.

Defamation focuses on specific facts that could damage another person's reputation. According to Article 310 of the Criminal Code, intentionally disseminating information that could damage another person's reputation constitutes defamation; if disseminated in writing or as pictures, the penalty increases to imprisonment for up to two years, detention, or a fine of up to NT$30,000. Online articles, screenshots, Stories, public posts, message boards, and comment sections are generally considered forms of dissemination in writing or as pictures.

The most common mistake is confusing the two. For example, "This shop is terrible" is more of a comment, but "The owner cuts corners, cheats customers, and evades taxes" involves specific facts. The former may still constitute blatant insult due to its tone and context, while the latter is more likely to be treated as defamation or damage to credibility.

Is it possible for posts to be valid if they are made in small groups, restricted areas, or anonymous accounts?

Many people believe that only public posts are risky, but "public" doesn't necessarily mean everyone actually sees it. If the environment allows unspecified individuals or a large number of people to see it, or if the group members are specific but numerous and their relationships are loose, it may still be considered public. LINE groups, company groups, community groups, anonymous forums, and public comment sections all need to be judged on a case-by-case basis.

Stories are not a safe zone. If the viewers include a large number of followers, or if the content is forwarded, screenshotted, and disseminated, it may still constitute a defamation dispute. Anonymous accounts do not mean that the person cannot be found. In criminal investigations, the poster may be traced through platform data, login records, IP address, mobile phone number, email address, payment information, or other digital footprints.

If you are a victim, don't just take a blurry screenshot immediately. Save the post's URL, account name, display time, complete context, comments, sharing history, and viewing or interaction records. As soon as possible, assess whether to report the incident to the police or file a lawsuit. If you are a defendant, preserve the complete context of your statements, not just the parts that are detrimental to you.

Does stating the facts necessarily preclude defamation?

Not necessarily. The most easily misunderstood aspect of defamation is that "facts" don't necessarily mean they can always be made public. According to Article 310, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code, in principle, no punishment is imposed if the defamed matter can be proven to be true. However, if it involves private morality and is unrelated to the public interest, one cannot rely solely on the truth as a defense to avoid liability.

Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 509 clarified that an individual is not required to prove the content is 100% true; even if, based on the evidence presented, there is substantial reason to believe it is true, it cannot be directly prosecuted as defamation. (Follow-up)Constitutional Court Judgment No. 8 of 2013Furthermore, if the speech involves public interest, and the speaker has conducted reasonable verification before publication, and can objectively and reasonably believe the content to be true based on the information obtained, even if it cannot be proven to be completely true later, it may still meet the requirements for exemption from punishment.

This means the defendant's focus shouldn't just be on saying "I believe it's true," but rather on explaining why they believe it. Have you checked contracts, receipts, chat logs, official documents, judgments, official announcements, company registrations, and transaction documents? Did you give the other party an opportunity to explain? Did you write your questions as questions instead of drawing conclusions? These factors all affect the judgment of reasonable verification.

Even if the insults are very harsh, if they have a public issue in mind, would they still constitute public insult?

Public insult is not just about how offensive or offensive the words are. The Constitutional Court...Judgment No. 3 of 113th year of the ConstitutionIt is pointed out that the crime of public insult should be judged based on the context of the individual case, focusing on whether it is intentional to publicly defame another person, whether it has exceeded the scope that a normal person can reasonably tolerate, and whether the remarks contribute to the positive value of public affairs, literary and artistic expression, or professional fields.

In other words, the same harsh remark may have different legal implications depending on whether it appears in a personal grudge, a consumer dispute, political commentary, a workplace complaint, or a discussion of community public safety. However, this does not mean that one can insult others without restraint in public discourse. If a statement is merely a personal attack without substantively discussing public matters, or if it is clearly intended to humiliate a specific person, it may still constitute public insult.

In practice, a more effective approach is to focus on verifiable facts, consumer experiences, service processes, transaction records, or the public issue itself, rather than replacing arguments with personal attacks. Business owners, employees, influencers, shop owners, and community leaders should especially avoid turning legally defensible comments into undefendable insults during crisis management.

Defamation is a legal matter that requires a lawsuit; the six-month time limit is very important.

According to Article 314 of the Criminal Law, crimes of defamation and damage to reputation generally require a complaint before prosecution.Article 237 of the Criminal Procedure LawThe crime of accusation is punishable by law, and the accusation must be made within six months from the time the person who is accusing the offender becomes aware of the offender's identity.

If you are a victim, you cannot simply save the article and wait for an apology. You need to confirm when you know who posted it and file a complaint within the stipulated time. If the statute of limitations for filing a complaint expires, even if the content is egregious, criminal proceedings may be hindered due to the time limit.

If you are the defendant, you should also confirm whether the complaint is filed within the time limit. In many online cases, the posting time, screenshot time, the time the victim became aware of the account, and the time the victim learned of the true identity are not the same. These dates can affect the legality of the complaint. During police questioning or investigative court, do not answer questions about dates based on memory; you should first clarify them.

What should a defendant prepare before police questioning for defamation?

First, preserve the complete flow of the conversation. Don't just look at the screenshots provided by the person who told you; go back and organize the entire message string, the posts before and after, the other party's previous statements, the background of the transaction or conflict, the time of your statement, and whether any segments were taken out of context or quoted out of context.

Second, it's crucial to distinguish whether your statements are factual statements, opinions, emotional expressions, or simply paraphrasing others. Defamation cases often debate whether specific facts are sufficient to damage a reputation, while public insults often involve arguments about whether they have exceeded the bounds of reasonable tolerance. These two defensive approaches differ and cannot be handled with the same approach.

Third, prepare reasonable verification materials. If you accuse the other party of fraud, debt, embezzlement, infidelity, kickbacks, selling counterfeit goods, or workplace bullying, you must organize the evidence you have gathered before making your statement. For consumer reviews, you should preserve payment records, orders, photos, conversations, customer service records, and your actual experience. For comments on public issues, you should organize news reports, official documents, meeting minutes, or other matters open to public scrutiny as evidence.

Fourth, do not plead guilty or sign a settlement before an assessment is conducted. Defamation cases often involve complex issues related to criminal and civil matters, public apologies, retractions, statements, confidentiality clauses, and compensation amounts. Prematurely admitting to fabricating facts may affect subsequent civil compensation; completely refusing to communicate may also eliminate any possibility of a settlement.

If a victim wants to file a lawsuit, how should the evidence be organized to be effective?

The most important thing for victims is to compile a list of "who, where, to whom, what was said, and what impact it had." Simply feeling humiliated is not enough to establish a case. Valid information includes complete screenshots, website addresses, account information, posting time, commenting time, sharing history, group member information, clues to the other party's real identity, and records of customer loss, work impact, inquiries from relatives and friends, or damage to credit caused by the remarks.

If the content is posted anonymously, it is recommended to report it to the police or file a lawsuit as soon as possible so that the investigative authorities can obtain the information through proper procedures. Doxxing, publicly disclosing the other party's personal information, or retaliating with insults could turn you from a victim into a defendant in another case. Especially in business disputes, cosmetic surgery disputes, franchise disputes, labor disputes, or social media public relations crises, legal strategies should simultaneously address criminal liability, civil claims, and brand risks.

In the civil aspect, the victim can rely on...Article 184 of the Civil CodeClaiming damages for tortious acts, and in accordance withArticle 195 of the Civil CodeThe plaintiff may request non-pecuniary damages and appropriate measures to restore the plaintiff's reputation. Whether a public apology, retraction, correction, or compensation can be demanded depends on the content of the statement, its dissemination, the extent of the damage, and the evidence in the specific case.

Lawyers advise that defamation cases should really focus on risk prioritization.

Online defamation cases are not just about "whether I'll be imprisoned." The more real risks in most cases are criminal records, fines that can be commuted to criminal penalties, settlements, public apologies, civil damages, damage to one's job or business reputation, and the possibility of the same statement sparking disputes among multiple plaintiffs or on multiple platforms.

If you are the defendant, you should first determine if there is room for non-prosecution, acquittal, narrowing of charges, withdrawal of charges, or settlement. If you are the victim, you should first determine if the criminal complaint is still within the six-month statute of limitations, if the perpetrator can be found, if there is sufficient evidence to support the claim of defamation, and whether the civil claim is worth pursuing concurrently.

Fidelity Law Firm can assist with cases involving online defamation, public insult, libel, credit damage, negative business reviews, and social media controversies, providing comprehensive planning from evidence preservation, complaint drafting, police questioning assistance, investigative court responses, settlement negotiations, to civil damages claims. If you have received a police notice, a district prosecutor's summons, or discovered offensive articles online, it is recommended that you have a lawyer review the complete context of your statements and evidence before making your first statement or sending a letter for evidence filing.

VI. FAQs in the main text

Frequently Asked Questions

Does posting insults online always constitute blatant public insult?

Not necessarily. Public insult depends on whether the message targets a specific person, whether it occurs in an environment where it can be seen and heard by an unspecified number of people, whether it intentionally damages someone's reputation, and whether it exceeds the reasonable tolerance level of most people based on the overall context. A bad tone alone may not be enough to constitute a public insult, but if it is clearly a form of personal humiliation, the risk increases.

I'm stating the facts, so how can I be sued for defamation?

Possibly. While defamation can be defended by the veracity defense, it doesn't necessarily absolve someone of liability if the content involves private matters and is unrelated to the public interest. If the content involves the public interest, the focus will be on whether you conducted reasonable research before speaking and whether you have objective evidence sufficient to reasonably believe the content is true.

What is the statute of limitations for filing a defamation lawsuit?

In principle, defamation and credit offenses are prosecuted on a complaint basis. The statute of limitations for filing a complaint is usually six months from the date the complainant becomes aware of the offender. In online cases, it is particularly important to confirm when the victim saw the post, when they learned of the account, and when they learned the poster's true identity.

If I receive a police notification that I've been accused of defamation, can I refuse to go to the police station?

It is not advisable to fail to appear without a valid reason. Upon receiving notification, you should first confirm the cause of action, the handling unit, and the time of arrival. Before questioning, you should prepare a complete summary of your statements, screenshots, conversation records, verified materials, and a timeline. If the case involves specific allegations, commercial disputes, or potential claims, it is recommended to discuss your statement-taking strategy with a lawyer beforehand.

Does a settlement for defamation always require monetary compensation?

Not necessarily. Settlement terms may include retraction of the post, correction, apology, a promise not to repost, confidentiality clauses, or monetary compensation. Whether or not compensation is paid, and the amount, depends on the severity of the statement, the scope of its dissemination, the harm suffered by the victim, the strength of the evidence, and the litigation risks for both parties. Before reaching a settlement, avoid writing anything that could be interpreted as an admission of fabricating facts.