The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Anyone who owns a television set in the UK is obliged, by law, to pay a licence fee which has always enabled the BBC to exist as an independent entity. But a recent Sunday Times article (paywalled) has announced the UK government’s intention to abolish the BBC licence fee. 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
When the government published its online harms white paper (OHWP) last spring we explained our view that the ideas in the white paper should represent the start of a journey towards greater regulation, rather than the final destination of that journey.
In October 2019, a few days after World Mental Health Day, Caroline Flack, renowned television presenter and, until recently, host of ITV’s flagship show Love Island, took to Instagram to write about the pressure she felt under: Continue reading
Martha Tsamis has worked in the nightclub industry for around 30 years and is the manager of the Inflation night-club in Melbourne. In October 2013, the police brought an application to restrict Inflation’s trading hours (LCRA proceeding). The evidence was that the police brought this in an attempt to reduce the incidence of drug overdoses, improve community safety and give people confidence that ‘licensed premises’ were not ‘drug dens’. The statement in the police application referred to 59 incidents that occurred at the venue. Continue reading
The abiding impression left by the government’s Initial Response to the Online Harms White Paper Consultation is that it is half-finished. Non-conclusions and conclusions sit side by side. Continue reading
Two young men publicly posted a photograph of themselves kissing on Facebook. The post ‘went viral’ and attracted around 800 comments, most of which were hateful. Some of the comments featured suggestions to burn, exterminate, hang, beat, castrate, and kill the two men as well as gay people in general. Continue reading
The Court of Appeal will soon be hearing an appeal in ZXC v Bloomberg LP [2019] EWHC 970 (QB) in which Nicklin J joined a handful of other English judges in concluding that “in general, a person does have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a police investigation up to the point of charge” ([119]). Continue reading
In tabloid newsrooms today there were three priorities – one, look sad about Caroline Flack, two, shift the blame for her death elsewhere, and three, find another victim. Continue reading
The death of TV presenter Caroline Flack has led to widespread condemnation of press intrusion and renewed calls for regulation of the press and social media. Continue reading
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