What Do You Do if a customer posts false allegations about your business online?

Facts

In April 2015, Emily Liao and Edward Chow, who were engaged to be married, hired Amara Wedding for wedding-related services including photography, makeup, hairstyling, scheduling, flowers, tuxedo rental and a master of ceremonies. Despite a dispute over some pre-wedding photos, the company went ahead and provided its services at the couple's wedding on July 4, 2015.

Liao was unhappy with the photos that were taken, and for nearly a year following the wedding, she published numerous disparaging comments about the company, using various English- and Chinese-language blogs, forums and social media sites, including Facebook, VanPeople and WeChat.

In one January 2016 post on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, Liao included highly personal attacks on the company's operators, accused them of fraud, and warned others not to do business with them.

In August 2015, Liao and Chow filed a small claims action in provincial court alleging breach of contract, but the following year the lawsuit was thrown out, with the judge ruling in favour of the company's counterclaim.

Attempts by Kevin Leung and his wife, Kitty Chan, the operators of the company, to get Liao to remove the defamatory posts and publish an apology failed until after the small claims decision was released. Liao then issued an apology.

Examples of online comments included: that the company was a "major scam shop" and a "deceitful photography mill business" engaged in extortion and dishonest and unfair practices.

Rather than waiting for a resolution of the dispute through the court process that Liao herself had initiated, she embarked upon a "determined campaign" to discredit and harm the company.

Kevin Leung said "that the defamation went viral in the Chinese community just at the point they were about to expand their business.

"Not only potential customers chose to stay away from us, photographers and other wedding professionals did not want to work with us and were gossiping about my wife's business practices and integrity. So not only financially, she also suffered mentally because of all the rumors that were spreading across the internet."

1. What is the legal issue/question
2. What is the legal principle/rule of law that applies?
3. Argument for the Plaintiffs
4. Argument for the Defendant including any defense that might be available to her