{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defamation-and-malicious-publication-scotland-act-2021/section-4",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defamation-and-malicious-publication-scotland-act-2021/section-4.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2021/10",
  "legislation_title": "Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defamation-and-malicious-publication-scotland-act-2021",
  "path": "section/4",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "4",
  "heading": "Power to specify persons to be treated as publishers",
  "text": "(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations specify categories of persons who are to be treated as publishers of a statement for the purpose of defamation proceedings despite not being—\n(a) the author, editor or publisher of the statement as defined in section 3, or\n(b) an employee or agent of such a person.\n(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may also provide for a defence to defamation proceedings for a person who—\n(a) is treated as a publisher under such regulations,\n(b) did not know and could not reasonably be expected to have known that the material which the person disseminated contained a defamatory statement, and\n(c) satisfies any further conditions specified by the regulations.\n(3) Regulations under subsection (1) are subject to the affirmative procedure.\n(4) Before laying a draft of a Scottish statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (1), the Scottish Ministers must consult such persons as they consider appropriate.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 4 in force at 8.8.2022 by S.S.I. 2022/154, regs. 1(2), 2"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/10/section/4",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:12:34.201134+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}