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 International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Month: August 2025 (Page 1 of 2)
Thomas Partey, formerly of Arsenal, now (controversially) a Villarreal player, is the latest high-profile football star to face serious criminal allegations, drawing his club into questions about its values and reputation. Continue reading
Earlier this month the US State Department released its annual report on Human Rights in over 190 countries. As usual, there was a country report on Canada. What was less usual was the report’s negative focus criticizing the state of press freedoms in Canada. It seems that as press freedom has declined in the US under Trump 2.0, the MAGA interpretation of how other countries should conduct themselves has ramped up. If there was ever a case of “the pot calling the kettle black”, this is it. Continue reading
In Sledziewski & Anor v Persons Unknown & Anor [2024] EWHC 1955 (KB), Aidan Eardley KC, sitting as a deputy High Court Judge, handed down an excoriating judgment refusing an application for an interim injunction in harassment. Continue reading
What began with accusations of misconduct has escalated into a reputational crisis, ending with the dismissal of MasterChef presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode. Beyond the headlines, this case puts how organisations and public figures respond to allegations of misconduct into the spotlight – offering key lessons from an employment and crisis management perspective. Continue reading
What the matters discussed in Part One of this post demonstrate above all is the complexity and difficulty of critiquing the OSA as a threat to perfectly legitimate forms of expression when such significant parts of the mainstream media, namely the Telegraph, Times, Sun, Express, Mail and GB News, along with pressure groups such as the Free Speech Union and powerful right-wing ‘think tanks’ (in actual fact, ‘free market’ lobbyists) such as the Adam Smith Institute and Policy Exchange have, in pursuit of their own political and ideological ends, repeatedly set it up as a straw man and attacked it from the perspective of what has come to be known as free speech fundamentalism. Continue reading
Judgment was, today, handed down in the libel case of Noel Clarke v Guardian News and Media [2025] EWHC 2193 (KB). In a 224 page, 1023 paragraph judgment, Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed all Mr Clarke’s claims. She found that Mr Clarke was not a “credible or reliable witness” [128] and the defences of truth and public interest were successful. 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
In a recent article for the journal Porn Studies I raised doubts about whether children and young people watching porn online is apparently so harmful to them that the restrictive measures proposed by the Online Safety Act (OSA) are necessary, proportionate and compatible with the UK’s various human rights obligations. I also posed the question of whether these measures, and particularly the requirements for age-verification, are actually workable. Continue reading
Several pieces of legislation across the world are coming into effect this year to tackle harms experienced online, such as the UK’s Online Safety Act and Australia’s Online Safety Act. There are also new standards, regulations, acts and laws related to digital products (including smart devices such as voice assistants, virtual headsets) and services such as social media platforms. Continue reading
Recent Judgments
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