Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Alabama

Defamation in Alabama comes mostly from common law developed by the courts, with some statutes on retractions and damages. The plaintiff must prove a false and defamatory statement about them, an unprivileged communication to a third party, fault amounting at least to negligence, and either special harm or a statement that is actionable without proof of harm.

Sources1Leader v. Specialty Marketing Corp., No. 20-10182 (11th Cir. 2020), applying Alabama law (quoting Dolgencorp, LLC v. Spence, 224 So. 3d 173 (Ala. 2016))2Butler v. Town of Argo (Ala. 2003)

Alabama still has a criminal defamation statute. In 2001, in Ivey v. State, the Alabama Supreme Court struck down the earlier version because it did not require actual malice. The current text, amended by Act 2016-371, makes it a Class B misdemeanor to knowingly or recklessly spread a false accusation that a private citizen, who is not holding or running for public office, committed a felony or another indictable offense involving moral turpitude. An older provision on libel that may tend to provoke a breach of the peace (Ala. Code § 13A-11-160) also still appears in the code.

Sources3Ala. Code § 13A-11-163 (Defamation), as amended by Act 2016-3714Ala. Code § 13A-11-163 (FindLaw mirror)5Ala. Code § 13A-11-160 (Libel tending to provoke breach of peace)6RCFP: Alabama Supreme Court declares criminal libel statute unconstitutional (Ivey v. State, 2001)7RCFP: State supreme court knocks down criminal defamation law (Ivey v. State, 2001)

Alabama law requires all libel and slander lawsuits to be filed within two years.

Sources8Ala. Code § 6-2-38(k)9Ala. Code § 6-2-38 (FindLaw mirror)

Related guide: Statute of limitations for defamation in every state

Spoken words are slander per se only if they accuse someone of an indictable crime involving infamy or moral turpitude. A written statement that exposes a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule can be libel per se. In per se cases, damage to reputation is presumed. When spoken words are not slander per se, the plaintiff must plead and prove special damages, meaning a material loss that can be measured in money.

Sources2Butler v. Town of Argo (Ala. 2003)10Cottrell v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n (Ala. 2007)

Related guide: What defamation per se means

Alabama has no anti-SLAPP statute. A general law lets a court charge costs and attorney fees to a private citizen who files a frivolous or bad-faith lawsuit, but the Reporters Committee notes that it has not been used to award fees to a defamation defendant.

Sources11RCFP Anti-SLAPP Legal Guide: Alabama12Ala. Code § 6-5-156.5 (Frivolous or bad faith action)

Related guide: Anti-SLAPP laws by state

Punitive damages for libel are available only if the plaintiff proves the defendant knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth, and that the plaintiff made a written demand for a public retraction five days before suing that the defendant did not meet within five days. A defendant who made a good-faith mistake and retracted it in the same medium, in a prominent position, can use that to reduce damages, and if that retraction is published within 10 days of the original statement, the plaintiff can recover only actual damages.

Sources13Ala. Code § 6-5-18614Ala. Code § 6-5-18415Ala. Code § 6-5-185

Truth is a complete defense to a defamation claim. Rhetorical hyperbole, such as a loose or exaggerated use of a word, is not treated as a factual accusation. Public figures, including limited-purpose public figures, must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the statement was made with actual malice, meaning the speaker knew it was false or acted with reckless disregard of whether it was false. That standard comes from New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case that arose from Alabama.

Sources1Leader v. Specialty Marketing Corp., No. 20-10182 (11th Cir. 2020), citing Battles v. Ford Motor Credit Co. and Sanders v. Smitherman16Blevins v. Barnes Corp. (Ala. Civ. App. 1999)10Cottrell v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n (Ala. 2007)17New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)

Alabama has no crime named cyberstalking, but its stalking laws reach online conduct. Second-degree stalking covers someone who, for an improper purpose and after being told to stop, repeatedly follows, harasses or contacts a person, including electronically, and harms their mental or emotional health or makes them reasonably fear for their job or business. It is a Class B misdemeanor, and a repeat offense is a Class C felony. First-degree stalking (repeated following or harassment plus a threat meant to cause fear of death or serious bodily harm) is a Class C felony, and placing an electronic tracking device on someone's property without consent is the separate crime of electronic stalking.

Sources18Ala. Code § 13A-6-90.1 (Stalking in the second degree), as amended by Act 2026-53519Ala. Code § 13A-6-90 (Stalking in the first degree)20Ala. Code § 13A-6-95 (Electronic stalking in the first degree)21Ala. Code § 13A-6-96 (Electronic stalking in the second degree)

Related guide: Cyberstalking laws explained

The crime of harassing communications covers contacting someone by written or electronic communication, anonymously or not, with intent to harass or alarm them and in a way likely to do so. It is a Class C misdemeanor.

Source22Ala. Code § 13A-11-8(b) (Harassing communications)

Related guide: Online harassment laws explained

Alabama makes doxing a crime. It covers intentionally posting or sharing someone's personal identifying information online, such as a home address or details about their children, meaning for others to use it to harass or harm that person, when the person is actually harassed or harmed. A first offense is a Class A misdemeanor and a later one is a Class C felony; the law states it does not limit political speech protected by the First Amendment.

Source23Ala. Code § 13A-11-38 (Doxing), Act 2023-369

Related guide: Is doxxing illegal?

It is a crime in Alabama to knowingly distribute a sexually explicit private image of an identifiable person without their written consent when they had a reasonable expectation of privacy. It is also a crime to create, record or alter such an image without consent, and the definition covers edited images and recordings that a reasonable person would believe show a real person, even if partly artificially generated. A first offense is a Class A misdemeanor and a later one is a Class C felony. Threatening to release sexually explicit images to force someone to act is sexual extortion, a Class B felony.

Sources24Ala. Code § 13A-6-240 (Distributing a private image; creating a private image)25Ala. Code § 13A-6-241 (Sexual extortion)