Amid Facebook fracas, Australia moves to update defamation laws

Australia is moving with new urgency to redraft its defamation laws after a court ruling that publishers can be liable for public comments on online forums like Facebook sent shockwaves through the media industry and beyond.

Since the ruling, CNN, which is owned by AT&T Inc, has blocked Australians from its Facebook pages, while the Australian arm of British newspaper the Guardian says it has disabled comments below most articles posted to the platform.

The leaders of the state of Tasmania...