Can I sue a company for defamatory reviews posted about my business in Malta?

Maltese law does provide for civil action in cases of defamation, which can include damaging false statements made online, and this is addressed both under general tort principles in the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, regarding liability for damage caused by wrongful acts, and under specific defamation legislation, the Media and Defamation Act, which governs civil actions for defamation in Malta, including matters relating to statements published online. To pursue a claim successfully, you would generally need to show that the statements were factually false, damaging to your reputation or business, and made without a valid legal defence, such as genuine opinion clearly presented as opinion rather than fact, or truth where the underlying facts stated are actually accurate, so the first practical step is to carefully preserve evidence of the specific reviews, including screenshots with dates and, where possible, information about the account posting them. Given both the legal and practical complexity of pursuing an online defamation matter, including potentially needing to identify an anonymous poster, this is a situation where consulting a lawyer promptly to assess the strength of a claim and the available options, including possibly requesting removal of the content directly from the platform, would be a sensible first step.