Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida

Re: Who is liable for slanderous comments on a forum?

Maybe, maybe not. I think such a case would be factually driven, and no facts are given here to make any such determination.

In general, a plaintiff may in good faith include in a complaint all possible causes of action against all parties who may be liable. Then, they wait to "see what sticks" in court. Under various theories of vicarious and contributory liability, I think the forum administrator could be a named defendant. Whether they would be held liable (in whole or in part) is for a judge to decide. Additionally, even if the a defendant is found liable, that same defendant may in-turn recover all or a portion of its liability from another party(ies) (in this example, from the author(s) of the defamatory statement(s)).

There is no straightforward answer that I can see in this situation.