The case which triggered this ruling involved postings on a website to which Richard Dawkins' foundation linked.

Even though the linked, US-based, website was outside the UK court's jurisdiction, because users were directed to the foreign website without any notification of redirection, the court accepted that the operator of the originating website could be liable for potentially defamatory statements made elsewhere.

This point serves as a reminder of a couple of things.

Firstly, a company whose website links to external sites should be wary of incurring liability for what happens on the linked site. In such circumstances, it would be prudent to make it clear to users when they are being redirected to a website belonging either to a third party or another group company.

Secondly and more broadly, the UK -- as with other countries around the world -- is having to think fast to apply legal norms to rapidly evolving communications technologies and practices.