Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Hawaii

Defamation in Hawaii is a common-law claim defined by its courts. Under the four-part test the Hawaii Supreme Court applied in Gold v. Harrison (1998), a plaintiff must prove a false and defamatory statement about them, an unprivileged publication to a third party, fault of at least negligence (actual malice for public figures), and either a statement actionable without proof of special harm or proof of such harm. Hawaii courts handle libel and slander together under this defamation framework.

Sources1Aiona v. County of Hawai'i, No. CAAP-21-0000452 (Haw. Ct. App. Feb. 27, 2025) (quoting Gold v. Harrison, 88 Haw. 94, 962 P.2d 353 (1998))2Tuomela v. Waldorf=Astoria Management LLC, Civ. No. 20-00117 JMS-RT (D. Haw. 2021)

Hawaii's Penal Code does not list a criminal libel or defamation offense, so false statements that harm a reputation are handled through civil lawsuits. A 2012 bill (H.B. 2707) proposed adding a criminal defamation crime to chapter 707, but the current chapter contains no such offense. Related conduct such as harassment, stalking and sharing intimate images without consent can still be prosecuted under chapter 711.

Sources3HRS chapter 707 (Offenses Against the Person), table of sections4HRS chapter 711 (Offenses Against Public Order), table of sections5H.B. 2707 (Haw. 2012), Relating to Criminal Defamation

HRS § 657-4 requires every libel or slander action to be started within two years after the claim accrues. The case notes to the statute indicate the claim accrues when the person defamed discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the publication.

Source6HRS § 657-4

Related guide: Statute of limitations for defamation in every state

Hawaii recognizes statements that are defamatory per se. When a publication is libelous per se, damage to the plaintiff is presumed and special (financial) damages do not have to be proven, although the defendant can still raise a privilege defense.

Source2Tuomela v. Waldorf=Astoria Management LLC, Civ. No. 20-00117 JMS-RT (D. Haw. 2021) (quoting Russell v. American Guild of Variety Artists, 53 Haw. 456, 497 P.2d 40 (1972))

Related guide: What defamation per se means

The Hawaii Public Expression Protection Act (HRS chapter 634G), Hawaii's version of the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, took effect June 17, 2022 and replaced the repealed chapter 634F, which only covered statements made to government bodies. It applies to claims based on communications in or about government proceedings and on speech, press, assembly, petition or association about matters of public concern, with some exceptions. A defendant may file a special motion to dismiss within 60 days of service, which pauses most proceedings including discovery, and the court must award costs, reasonable attorney's fees and litigation expenses to a defendant who wins that motion.

Sources7HRS chapter 634G (Hawaii Public Expression Protection Act), table of sections8HRS § 634G-2 (scope)9HRS § 634G-310HRS § 634G-911HRS chapter 634F (repealed by L 2022, c 96, § 3)12RCFP Anti-SLAPP Legal Guide: Hawaii

Related guide: Anti-SLAPP laws by state

A statement must be false to be defamatory, so truth defeats the claim, and pure opinion or rhetorical hyperbole that cannot be proven true or false is protected by the First Amendment. Words that are material and pertinent to judicial proceedings carry an absolute litigation privilege, while some other communications carry only a qualified privilege that can be lost if abused. Public figures must prove actual malice.

Sources1Aiona v. County of Hawai'i, No. CAAP-21-0000452 (Haw. Ct. App. Feb. 27, 2025)2Tuomela v. Waldorf=Astoria Management LLC, Civ. No. 20-00117 JMS-RT (D. Haw. 2021) (discussing Matsuura v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 102 Haw. 149 (2003))

Harassment by stalking (HRS § 711-1106.5) is a misdemeanor covering a course of conduct, on more than one occasion and without a legitimate purpose, involving pursuit, surveillance or nonconsensual contact, done to harass, annoy or alarm or with reckless disregard of that risk. Since 2009, nonconsensual contact expressly includes any form of electronic communication, including email.

Source13HRS § 711-1106.5

Related guide: Cyberstalking laws explained

Under HRS § 711-1106, it is harassment, a petty misdemeanor, to repeatedly contact someone by phone, fax or any form of electronic communication, including email, without a legitimate purpose and with intent to harass, annoy or alarm. Separately, a person subjected to harassment, including an intentional course of conduct that seriously alarms or disturbs them and would cause a reasonable person emotional distress, can ask a district court for a temporary restraining order and an injunction under HRS § 604-10.5.

Sources14HRS § 711-110615HRS § 604-10.5

Related guide: Online harassment laws explained

Hawaii has no general anti-doxxing crime, but harassment by impersonation (HRS § 711-1106.6) makes it a misdemeanor to pose as someone without permission and share their name, address, phone number or email address to harass, annoy or alarm. For covered public servants, such as judges, legislators and election workers, HRS chapter 92H requires government agencies, people and organizations to take protected personal information, like a home address, off the internet within three business days of a written request (extendable by up to ten more business days), and lets the public servant sue for an injunction.

Sources16HRS § 711-1106.617HRS § 92H-1 (definitions)18HRS § 92H-219HRS § 92H-420HRS § 92H-521Act 187, Session Laws of Hawaii 2024 (H.B. 1916)

Related guide: Is doxxing illegal?

Violation of privacy in the first degree (HRS § 711-1110.9), a class C felony, includes knowingly sharing or threatening to share a nude or sexual image of an identifiable person without consent, with intent to cause substantial harm or as revenge. It also covers creating or sharing, with the same intent, a fake composite image that appears to show a real person nude or engaged in sexual conduct, and courts can order such recordings destroyed.

Source22HRS § 711-1110.9