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Fox Corp and Fox News have resolved a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems, the judge in the case says, averting a trial putting one of the world's top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of vote-rigging claims in the 2020 US election.

The resolution, whose terms were not immediately disclosed, was announced at the 11th hour, with a 12-person jury selected on Tuesday morning and the case poised to kick off with opening statements on Tuesday afternoon.

Dominion had sought $US1.6 billion ($A2.4 billion) in damages in the lawsuit filed in 2021, with Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis presiding over the case in Wilmington.

Davis had ordered a one-day trial postponement on Monday before the delay on Tuesday, apparently as the two sides hammered out a deal.

The deal spares Fox the peril of having some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand and subjected to potentially withering questioning, from executives including Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul who serves as Fox Corp chairman, and Fox CEO Suzanne Scott as well as on-air hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.

The decision to settle also followed a ruling by the judge that Fox could not invoke free speech protections under the US constitution in its defence.

At issue in the lawsuit was whether Fox was liable for airing the false claims that Denver-based Dominion's ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the 2020 US election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden over Republican then-president Donald Trump.

Dominion argued that these on-air claims caused the company "enormous and irreparable economic harm."

Fox News is the most-watched US cable news network, according to Nielsen.

The primary question for jurors was to be whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of "actual malice" that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.

Based on a slew of internal communications, Dominion alleged that Fox staff, from newsroom employees all the way up to Murdoch, knew the statements were false but continued to air them out of fear of losing viewers to media competitors on the right.

Adding to the legal risks for Fox, another US voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $US2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

Fox Corp reported nearly $US14 billion in annual revenue last year.

© RAW 2023

Fox Corp and Fox News have settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $US787.5 million ($A1.2 billion), averting a trial putting one of the world's top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of vote-rigging claims in the 2020 US election.

The settlement was announced by Fox, Dominion and the judge in the case at the 11th hour, with a 12-person jury selected on Tuesday morning and the case poised to kick off with opening statements on Tuesday afternoon.

Dominion had sought $US1.6 billion in damages in the lawsuit filed in 2021, with Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis presiding over the case in Wilmington.

Dominion's CEO disclosed the settlement figure and said Fox had admitted to telling lies about his company.

"We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Fox's continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues," Fox said in a statement.

At issue in the lawsuit was whether Fox was liable for airing the false claims that Denver-based Dominion's ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the 2020 US election in favour of Democrat Joe Biden over Republican then-president Donald Trump.

Dominion argued that these on-air claims caused the company "enormous and irreparable economic harm".

Davis had ordered a one-day trial postponement on Monday before another delay on Tuesday, apparently as the two sides hammered out a deal.

The deal spares Fox the peril of having some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand and subjected to potentially withering questioning, including executives such as Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul who serves as Fox Corp chairman, and Fox CEO Suzanne Scott as well as on-air hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.

The decision to settle also followed a ruling by the judge last month that Fox could not invoke free speech protections under the US constitution in its defence.

Fox News is the most-watched US cable news network, according to Nielsen.

The primary question for jurors was to be whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of "actual malice" that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.

In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false.

Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other conservative-leaning media competitors including One America News Network, which Dominion is suing separately.

Adding to the legal risks for Fox, another US voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $US2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

Fox Corp reported nearly $US14 billion in annual revenue last year.

Fox had argued that claims by Trump and his lawyers about the election were inherently newsworthy and protected by the Constitution's First Amendment.

Davis ruled in March that Fox could not use those arguments, finding its coverage was false, defamatory and not protected by the first amendment.

Dominion obtained internal communications and testimony from Murdoch and other Fox News executives and commentators.

Murdoch internally described the election-rigging claims as "really crazy" and "damaging" but declined to wield his editorial power to stop them and conceded under oath that some Fox hosts nonetheless "endorsed" the claims, Dominion told the court in a filing.

© RAW 2023

Youth justice systems are enabling widespread child rights abuses in all states and territories, a new report has found.

Save the Children Australia has called for an urgent, nationwide overhaul to ensure better outcomes for children and the community.

While every state and territory has more to do to ensure children's rights were upheld, the report by the child's rights advocacy group found Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory were the worst offenders.

In all three jurisdictions, the use of adult facilities to detain children and the use of excessive force and restraint were found to be significant breaches of children's rights.

The report has renewed the call for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to at least 14 years, nationally.

Save the Children Australia also called for the introduction of national youth justice standards, independent oversight of youth detention facilities and legislated human rights protections.

The report recommended detention for children be used as a last resort and only where all other efforts of intervention were unsuccessful.

Save the Children Australia chief executive Matt Tinkler said the current system was setting children up to fail.

"The global evidence base shows that a rights-based approach to youth justice will lead to better outcomes for children, the community and governments," he said.

"The punitive and 'tough on crime' approaches of Australian governments are the opposite of this: they punish children for being victims of underlying causes like poverty and inequality; poor access to education and family support; and lead to children cycling back into the system again and again."

Nearly half of those in the youth justice system are Indigenous, despite making up just 5.8 per cent of the general population.

Culturally and linguistically diverse children make up 39 per cent of those in the system, while 40 per cent are from remote or regional areas.

More than 35 per cent come from the lowest socio-economic areas.

Mr Tinkler said adopting a child rights approach to youth justice would improve the way the system operates and provide better outcomes for children.

"This involves governments being prepared to invest in prevention and early intervention programs that are proven to reduce crime and set young people up with the skills and connections to reach their potential," he said.

© AAP 2023