Back in March, exercising rare concern for those exploited by the super-rich, the government issued an ‘urgent call for evidence’ that promised, based upon ‘third party and anecdotal evidence’ [42], ‘quick and effective’ action against Strategic Litigation against Public Participation (“SLAPPs”). Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Category: Government and Policy (Page 1 of 36)
On 20 July 2022 the Government published its response to the call for evidence on Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation [pdf] with a Foreword by Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab. This document summarises the evidence on each of the 45 questions posed in the “Call for Evidence” and sets out the Government response to each one. It is a disappointing document which includes no clear concrete proposals and is, in important respects, wholly inadequate. Continue reading
According to draft extracts of the Prevent review leaked to the Guardian, the government’s counter-terrorism programme has been too heavily focused on right-wing extremism and insufficiently concerned with Islamist extremism. Continue reading
Yesterday in the House of Commons the Government was skewered over its plans to allow extremists or dictators to set up front organisations in the UK and brand themselves “news publishers”, to benefit from a wide ranging and poorly drafted exemption to the Online Safety Bill. Several newspapers have rushed to defend the loophole because they themselves would benefit from. Continue reading
Channel 4 first flashed onto British TV screens under the watch of a Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher. Forty years later, in a move described by critics as “cultural vandalism”, the current Conservative government has decided to put it up for sale. Continue reading
As part of our annual review of defamation law in the jurisdiction, we examine two notable reported judgments from 2021 and, as the Northern Ireland Assembly’s legislative programme reaches the final stages, the nature of the reforms proposed by the Defamation Bill. Continue reading
Rarely mentioned in the news media since it began, Boris Johnson’s Government has been quietly paying a special Coronavirus subsidy to the big newspaper groups for nearly two years. Details are scarce, but the bulk of this taxpayers’ money appears to have gone to organisations that (a) were wealthy enough to survive the crisis without special help and (b) generally support the Government through their partisan journalism. Continue reading
When it comes to online safety—or its flip side, online harms—many countries are grappling with the problem. What is the role of government in establishing guidelines and regulations for the protection of citizens, particularly vulnerable segments of the population, from a range of harms perpetrated by anti-social and even criminal elements via the internet? What is the role of “internet intermediaries”, the internet distribution and social media platforms that the perpetrators use to attack their victims? Continue reading
The Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) Consultation, “Human Rights Act Reform: A modern Bill of Rights” (the “Consultation”), contains proposals that tips the balance between “respect for private and family life.” (A.8) and freedom of expression and to impart information (A.10) in favour of the latter (A.10). Continue reading
Lying in politics is nothing new. And while state and political actors have always enjoyed an outsized influence on public discourse, the digital age provides an abundance of new tools for these actors to magnify their voices in unprecedented ways. Across the globe, these actors are leveraging the advantages of social media to disseminate disinformation for the purpose of improperly manipulating public opinion. Continue reading
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