Accusations of Racism, Shitstorm and Boycott
The dispute began back in 2018. At the time, Dolce & Gabbana released some promotional videos for the Asian market before a planned fashion show in Shanghai. Among other things, the advertising showed a Chinese model trying to eat spaghetti with chopsticks. The shitstorm wasn’t long in coming – and was so big that not only the videos were deleted, but the fashion show was also cancelled.
But that wasn’t the end of it for Dolce & Gabbana. The bloggers Tony Liu and Lindsay Schuyler, who run the “Diet Prada” blog dedicated to topics such as racism and plagiarism in fashion, published comments by designer Stefano Gabbana on their Instagram channel shortly afterwards. In them, he made racist comments about Asians and described China as a “shitty country.” The statements came from the designer’s private Instagram messages, which were leaked to the bloggers.
Gabbana initially claimed his Instagram account had been hacked, then afterwards, the designers apologised in a video. After word got out about the promotional video and the statements, many Asian customers boycotted Dolce & Gabbana, and sales in Asian plummeted.
Dolce & Gabbana Demands over 500 Million Euros
As has only now become known, the fashion company then sued the two bloggers in a Milan civil court for over 500 million euros in damages in 2019. The company spent 450 million on improving their brand image, and 89,6 million was lost in sales in Asia. The two defendants have now made the lawsuit public on Instagram and are asking for donations for the legal proceedings.
According to them, the whole thing is just an attempt by the fashion company to silence them and other bloggers. Dolce & Gabbana’s behaviour is actually a bit strange. Because the company has been trying to polish its reputation publicly since the original incidents. For example, it donated to Covid-19 research and put a lot of money into a new communication strategy. This secret lawsuit against the bloggers doesn’t quite fit the picture...
Multi-million Euro Lawsuit as Revenge?
There are a lot of question marks behind the lawsuit itself, which are likely to be difficult to clarify: Did Stefano Gabbana really make the statements? How will Dolce & Gabbana prove that the sales slump is related to the posting on Instagram? Were the bloggers undertaking character assassination or just reporting facts? Since Dolce & Gabbana should also be aware that it cannot easily sue bloggers for millions of dollars, the proceedings could in fact be nothing more than an attempt at intimidation. Which in turn will not help to improve the image of the fashion company.
Opinion, Fact or Defamation?
But what about statements in social media or blogs? Which fall under free speech and which fall under defamation? This question isn’t easy to answer. Many different terms and definitions play a role here. For example, the question of whether the statement is a statement of fact.
What is an expression of opinion?
An opinion is a subjective statement and cannot be verified as true or false.
What is a statement of fact?
A statement of fact, in contrast to an expression of opinion, is a statement that can be objectively clarified and proven. Whether a statement of fact is protected by freedom of expression depends on its truthfulness.
What is defamation?
Defamation is the assertion of an untrue fact against one’s better judgment in order to slander, belittle in public opinion, or jeopardise the credit of another.
If personal rights are violated, the person concerned may have certain claims, including:
- Cease and desist
- Correction
- Deletion
- Counter-notification
- Compensation for damages
- Monetary compensation
Tip:
Blogging can be a dream job but as the example with Dolce & Gabbana shows, there are also risks. If you want to learn more about what you should look out for as a blogger and what the risks are, you should read this article: Blogger: Your Risks and How to Protect Yourself Properly
It remains to be seen whether the Dolce & Gabbana case will even be decided before the Milan court, as the bloggers’ defence lawyers pointed out that Italy was not the right place for the lawsuit, since the blog operated in the USA and the alleged damage occurred in Asia...
Professional Indemnity: Comprehensive Protection for Bloggers
Whether you’re a blogger, freelance journalist, YouTuber or influencer: With Professional Indemnity Insurance through exali, you’re fully protected. Violations of rights (e.g. violations of personal rights or copyright violations), fines and the resulting claims for damages are comprehensively insured. The insurer first checks claims for you, fends off unjustified claims at its own expense and pays justified claims for damages.
If the allegations from the damage event result in criminal proceedings, the insurer will also bear the court attendance expenses (lawyer’s costs). You can easily take out Professional Indemnity Insurance online and put together your own insurance coverage. If you have any questions, please contact our insurance experts at any time, who will be happy to advise you personally.
Calculate your premium now:
<span class='visible--desktop'>First-Party Cyber and Data Risks Insurance (FPC)</span>
<span class='visible--tablet'>First-Party Cyber and Data Risks Insurance (FPC)</span>
<span class='visible--mobile'>FIrst-Party Cyber and Data Risks Insurance (FPC)</span>
<span class='visible--desktop'><p><strong>This add-on protects your business from the risk of hacking, DDoS attacks or other internet crime.</strong></p>
<p>Reimbursed/covered:<strong> </strong>for example costs for the <strong>restoration of your IT systems</strong>, the commissioning of professional <strong>computer forensics analysts</strong> or specialised <strong>lawyers</strong> (including criminal defence) as well as for <strong>crisis management & PR</strong>. Additional costs for the quick elimination or avoidance of an interruption to your business are also insured.</p>
<h5>Further Examples of Damages We Insure</h5>
<ul class="liste">
<li>Damage to your own IT systems (from hacking)</li>
<li>First-party data rights claim (in particular spying on personal data)</li>
<li>Expenses for an (imminent) interruption of business (additional cost coverage)</li>
<li>Breach of trust damage (intentional damage to own IT by employees)</li>
<li>Costs for criminal defence (internet criminal legal protection)</li>
</ul>
<h5>Insurer Services</h5>
<p>The special benefit about this add-on is the assumption of your own <strong>costs</strong>, e.g. for the commissioning of:</p>
<ul class="liste">
<li>Computer forensics specialists</li>
<li>Specialised lawyers</li>
<li>Consultants to provide information to data owners</li>
<li>Professionals for PR & crisis management</li>
<li>Credit protection and monitoring services</li>
</ul>
<p>as well as the assumption of <strong>additional costs, e.g. for the use of third-party IT and computer systems.</strong></p>
<p>For this add-on an <strong>deductible of € 1,000 per damage event</strong> applies.</p>
<p>For more details, see Section <strong>6. First-Party Cyber and Data Risks Insurance (FPC)</strong>, in the insurance policy terms and conditions.</p>
</span>
<span class='visible--tablet'><p><strong>This add-on protects your business from the risk of hacking, DDoS attacks or other internet crime.</strong></p>
<p>Reimbursed/covered:<strong> </strong>for example costs for the <strong>restoration of your IT systems</strong>, the commissioning of professional <strong>computer forensics analysts</strong> or specialised <strong>lawyers</strong> (including criminal defence) as well as for <strong>crisis management & PR</strong>. Additional costs for the quick elimination or avoidance of an interruption to your business are also insured.</p>
<h5>Further Examples of Damages We Insure</h5>
<ul class="liste">
<li>Damage to your own IT systems (from hacking)</li>
<li>First-party data rights claim (in particular spying on personal data)</li>
<li>Expenses for an (imminent) interruption of business (additional cost coverage)</li>
<li>Breach of trust damage (intentional damage to own IT by employees)</li>
<li>Costs for criminal defence (internet criminal legal protection)</li>
</ul>
<h5>Insurer Services</h5>
<p>The special benefit about this add-on is the assumption of your own <strong>costs</strong>, e.g. for the commissioning of:</p>
<ul class="liste">
<li>Computer forensics specialists</li>
<li>Specialised lawyers</li>
<li>Consultants to provide information to data owners</li>
<li>Professionals for PR & crisis management</li>
<li>Credit protection and monitoring services</li>
</ul>
<p>as well as the assumption of <strong>additional costs, e.g. for the use of third-party IT and computer systems.</strong></p>
<p>For this add-on an <strong>deductible of € 1,000 per damage event</strong> applies.</p>
<p>For more details, see Section <strong>6. First-Party Cyber and Data Risks Insurance (FPC)</strong>, in the insurance policy terms and conditions.</p>
</span>
<span class='visible--mobile'><p>Protection against hacking damage to your own IT systems, DDoS attacks, computer misuse, theft of data carriers and other data rights violations and the majority of the resulting expenses and costs.</p>
</span>
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Add-on: AI-Related First-Party Losses (ARL)
<h5>What is covered?</h5>
<p>The policy covers <strong>first-party losses</strong> incurred by you or your company <strong>as a result of malfunctions when using AI systems</strong>, such as</p>
<ul class="list--checkmark">
<li>Incorrect, incomplete, or hallucinated results from AI tools</li>
<li>Erroneous decisions or unintended processes by AI agents and applications</li>
<li>Incorrect processing or interpretation of data by AI systems</li>
</ul>
<h5>What is reimbursed?</h5>
<p>Your <strong>additional costs</strong> for remedying the damage are reimbursed, including, for example:</p>
<ul class="list--checkmark">
<li>Analysis and correction of AI errors (e.g., root cause analysis, rollback, deactivation)</li>
<li>Restoration, cleanup, or recreation of corrupted data</li>
<li>Additional personnel costs (e.g., overtime or replacement staff)</li>
<li>Manual post-processing and temporary solutions to maintain operations</li>
<li>Costs for external service providers, consultants, or experts</li>
</ul>
<h5>Important Limitations</h5>
<ul class="list--checkmark">
<li>No coverage for loss of revenue</li>
<li>No coverage for further development or new AI functions</li>
</ul>
<p>The compensation limit is € 50,000 per insured event and insurance year; the deductible is € 1,000.</p>
<p>For more details, see <strong>Section A.7, AI-Related First-Party Losses (ARL)</strong>, in the insurance policy terms and conditions.</p>
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Add-on: Engineering Activities (ENG)
<h5>What is covered?</h5>
<p>These activities are insured under an open-ended occupational coverage policy, specifically:</p>
<ul class="liste">
<li>Development of hardware and software in mechanical and plant engineering (including embedded software)</li>
<li>Programming of control, automation, CNC, and PLC applications</li>
<li>Design, technical drafting, and CAD/CAM services</li>
<li>Prototyping, testing, simulations, and commissioning</li>
<li>Robotics applications and engineering services, e.g., in the field of renewable energy or regulated environments (e.g., pharmaceutical, biotech)</li>
</ul>
<p>Certain types of <strong>property damage</strong> are also covered if they result directly from your engineering services.</p>
<h5>Scope of the Additional Coverage Module</h5>
<p>Coverage for clearly defined technical units, such as software modules, control logic, or interfaces that can be tested independently, including assistance with integration into an overall system.</p>
<h5>Important Limitations</h5>
<ul class="liste">
<li>No assumption of <strong>overall responsibility</strong> for complete systems</li>
<li>No coverage for damage occurring <strong>during ongoing operation</strong> or <strong>after acceptance</strong></li>
<li>No coverage for <strong>production downtime</strong></li>
<li><strong>No liability </strong>for product characteristics <strong>during subsequent use</strong></li>
</ul>
<h5>Deductible</h5>
<p>The deductible for financial loss and property damage is the same as the deductible selected for the financial loss insurance (FLI).</p>
<p>For more details, see the insurance terms and conditions under Section<strong> A.8 Engineering Activities (ENG).</strong></p>
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