# Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021, Section 21: Statements causing harm to business interests


(1) A person (B) may bring proceedings under this section against another person (A) where—
(a) A has—
(i) made a false and malicious statement about B's business or business activities, and
(ii) published the statement to a person other than B, and
(b) the statement has caused (or is likely to cause) financial loss to B.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (a) (i), a statement is malicious only if B shows—
(a) that the imputation conveyed by the statement complained of was presented as being a statement of fact (rather than a statement of opinion) and was sufficiently credible so as to mislead a reasonable person, and
(b) both—
(i) that A knew that the imputation was false or was recklessly indifferent as to the truth of the imputation, and
(ii) that A's publication of the statement was motivated by a malicious intention to cause harm to B's business or business activities.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/10/section/21 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/defamation-and-malicious-publication-scotland-act-2021/section-21
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.