媒體言論自由的界線─以誹謗案件「真正惡意」法則適用分析為例

The controversy between the freedom of the press and libel has always been an important issue in media law. It was not until July 7, 2000, has the ”actual malice principle” been introduced to Taiwan criminal law system. The purpose of this study is to exam applications of the ”actual malice principle” to the media libel cases in Taiwan. One hundred and fifty-three cases between July 7, 2000 and July 31, 2008 were collected and analyzed in which 32 cases were directly related to media. The result shows that the introduction of the ”actual malice principle” did improve the protection of the freedom of the press in Taiwan. Only 2 out of the total 32 media libel lawsuits lose their cases. Nevertheless, judges in Taiwan tend to not only apply the ”actual malice principle” to media libel cases but also to general libel cases. Further researches are needed to examine whether this new application of ”actual malice principle” is to improve or endanger the protection of the freedom of the press.