BBC seeks dismissal of Donald Trump’s $10B defamation lawsuit

The BBC has filed a motion in a Miami federal court asking a judge to dismiss a $10 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump. The lawsuit follows a 2024 Panorama documentary that used edited footage of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech, which the plaintiff claims created a false impression of direct incitement. While the BBC apologized for the editing, it has refused to pay damages.

The broadcaster argues that the court lacks jurisdiction because the documentary was never broadcast in the United States and was geo-blocked to prevent American access via its iPlayer platform. The BBC contends that Trump’s legal team is attempting to establish jurisdiction based on 34 instances of users accessing the content via a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a move the BBC describes as “legally reckless” with “massive implications” for foreign media companies.

In response to the BBC’s legal maneuvers, Trump’s legal team has asked the judge to reject the broadcaster’s request for a discovery hearing. Trump’s lawyers accused the BBC of being “stubborn” and acting “prematurely” by filing motions before the parties had finished the court-ordered process of meeting and conferring to resolve outstanding discovery requests.