The tragic death of George Floyd on 25 May 2020 whilst being detained by the police in Minneapolis has been the focus of many headlines over the past few weeks, dominating the media landscape.

The New York Times [£] has a piece dedicated to the circumstances and cause of his death. The Economist [£], the New Yorker, BBC News, Washington Post are among the many outlets to cover the circumstances of this appalling loss of life.

The ensuing worldwide protests and their impact have been covered by the Guardian, NBC News, Washington Post, The Conversation, CBS News and NPR.  The Guardian covers an alleged increase in violence against journalists during this period. The police response, including the implementation of curfews, has been criticised by Amnesty International UK, Sky News, Al Jazeera,

The charges facing the four police officers have been much debated in the media, with Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck, receiving a charge of third degree murder- later increased to second-degree murder. The three officers also present in the scene received aiding and abetting second degree murder and manslaughter charges. One of the officers, Thomas Lane, has been released on bail.

The IBA has an article analysing how the police’s use of force is discriminatory, disproportionate use of force has undermined the rule of law.

The New Statesman calls the resulting discussion around discrimination in media outlets “a moment of reckoning for US media”. The Observer has highlighted the music industry “blacking out” services for George Floyd.

The Brookings Blog has a post “A primer on Section 230 and Trump’s Executive Order”.

This month in the Courts

 Howse v. Hodous No. 19-3418, in the Sixth Circuit,  a review of decision to grant qualified immunity to two Cleveland plainclothes police officers who Cleveland plainclothes police officers who allegedly beat a man on his porch and then had him charged with assault when he failed to responded what they deemed a sufficiently respectfully to their questions.

This Round up was complied by Suneet Sharma a junior legal professional with a particular interest and experience in media, information and privacy law.