On 4 February 2021, the Constitutional Court handed down its decision in the case of AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism NPC v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services [2021] ZACC 3. This has already received worldwide acclaim. It found in favour of amaBhungane, the investigative journalism organisation, in a landmark case involving the collision between the right to privacy and the right of the state to engage in surveillance. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Month: February 2021 (Page 3 of 4)
The imminent arrival of two new current affairs channels is fuelling heated debate about the future direction of broadcast journalism in the UK. GB News is chaired by former newspaper editor and BBC presenter Andrew Neil, and funded by a range of investors including Discovery, Inc. News UK TV is backed by Rupert Murdoch, whose Fox News channel has long been a partisan broadcaster in US politics. Continue reading
The Court of Appeal has ordered that Johnny Depp’s application for permission to appeal against the judgment of Nicol J (Depp II v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2911 (QB)) should be considered at a hearing. On 1 February 2021 Underhill LJ ordered that the hearing should take place if possible between 15 and 31 March 2021. Continue reading
Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to contribute to the development of an integrated and progressive jurisprudence and understanding on freedom of expression and information around the world. It maintains an extensive database of international case law. This is its newsletter dealing with recent developments in the field. Continue reading
The BBC has been fined £28,000 for contempt of court after including a six-second shot taken from a recording of a ‘remote’ hearing in the High Court as background footage in a report on a planning dispute. Continue reading
In her recent keynote at the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology, Harvard Business School Professor Emerita Shoshana Zuboff shared her insight from years of research on the profit-driven business models of online platforms that capitalise on behavioural data. Continue reading
A man who posted an online message slamming a law firm as a “total waste of money” and a “scam solicitor” has been ordered to pay £25,000 in damages for defamation. Continue reading
The Australian federal government is talking tough about making Google and Facebook pay Australian news businesses for linking to, or featuring, these publishers’ content. The digital platforms have been talking equally tough. Facebook is threatening to remove Australian news stories and Google says it will shut off search to Australia if the government pushes ahead with its “mandatory bargaining code”. Continue reading
The year 2021 will see the introduction of new regulatory institutions and regimes for digital platforms. In the UK, the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) was announced in late 2020. Meanwhile on the continent, a similar proposal is in the legislative pipeline in Germany with the amendment to the General Competition Act (GWB) and the EU Commission has laid out its own plans for tackling platform dominance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Continue reading
A unilateral Statement in Open Court [pdf] was read today before Mr Justice Nicklin, after The Duke of Sussex accepted an offer of settlement in relation to false claims made by the Mail on Sunday that he had turned his back on the Royal Marines and ignored correspondence from Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff. Continue reading
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