opinion privilege

English

Noun

opinion privilege (uncountable)

1. (US, law) The right to freely express one's opinion in public, without it being subjected to restrictions.
   • 2007, Brett J. Trout, Cyber Law: A Legal Arsenal for Online Business, page 77:

     An additional First Amendment defense available to bulletin board posters is that of the opinion privilege.

   • 2015, William A. Babcock, William H. Freivogel, The SAGE Guide to Key Issues in Mass Media Ethics and Law:

     Yet another possible approach for those who seek a broader opinion privilege would be to encourage courts to recraft the fair comment and privilege defense for modern times.

Usage notes

• In US law, opinion privilege applies to all opinions except for statements of fact that are couched as opinions. For example, saying "In my opinion, he is a liar" is not protected by opinion privilege, because it is taken to mean the same thing as "He is a liar".