December 11th, 2012
The British government’s Communications Data Bill
is to be redrafted after the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he would block the current bill.
The bill, which would give government agencies unprecedented access to email, web and phone traffic, has been described as a “snooper’s charter” by free speech and privacy groups.
Earlier today, a joint committee of MPs and Lords
published a damning report describing the draft bill as “too sweeping”, and criticising the vague definitions of the powers given to the Home Secretary by the proposed law.
Writing for the Independent, MP Julian Huppert, a member of the Joint Committee on the Communications Data Bill, said: “After this report, there is absolutely no way that this Bill – with its incredibly wide powers and few safeguards – can possibly proceed.The Home Office has completely failed to show that it is needed, proportionate, possible or affordable. They must start from scratch.”
Index on Censorship has been heavily critical of the Communications Data Bill. In
evidence submitted to the committee in August of this year, Index described the powers granted to the Home Secretary by the bill as “unacceptable”, and warned, “The decisions the UK Parliament takes on this bill willimpact on human rights both in the UK and beyond, not least in authoritarian states.”
December 11th, 2012
The coalition’s plan to store information on every citizen’s use of email, the web, and phones have been dealt a serious blow by a parliamentary committee report. Padraig Reidy reports
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December 10th, 2012
Section 5 of the 1986
Public Order Act could be adjusted to remove the word “insulting” from legislation, it was announced today (10 December). Director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer has said that past cases could be classified as “abusive”, as opposed to “insulting”. Section 5 has stirred
controversy in the past: in 2010, a Christian preacher was
charged with a public order offence for telling a police officer homosexuality was “a sin”. A Home Office spokesman told the
Telegraph that it had “consulted on removing ‘insulting’ from the Act and was considering the responses.” The House of Lords will take a vote on the matter on Wednesday (12 December).
November 30th, 2012
A blogger sued for libel by a Tanzanian media tycoon won her case today (30 November). At the High Court in London, Mr Justice Bean ruled in favour of Sarah Hermitage, who used her Silverdale Farm blog to criticise Reginald Mengi, Executive Chairman of IPP Ltd — a company with significant media interests in Tanzania.
Hermitage and her husband Stuart Middleton were driven from Silverdale Farm in Tanzania by threats and harassment. The court heard Megni’s brother Benjamin took possession of the farm following their departure. A defining factor in the ruling was the hostile coverage of Silverdale Farm by the IPP-owned newspapers. Mengi was ordered to pay £1.2million towards Hermitage’s legal costs.
Hermitage said today:
I set up my Silverdale Farm blog in 2009 to document our horrific experience in Tanzania, and to expose as a warning for others the corruption we encountered and our helplessness with no protection from the local Courts and officials.
To find myself then sued for libel in my own country, facing a claim of legal costs of £300,000 from Mr Mengi before the proceedings had even started, was itself frightening and oppressive.
November 28th, 2012
The judge’s part is done, now its up to the press and parliament. Can the press convince politicians they are capable of reform? Or will the government decide it needs powers to control the press?
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November 16th, 2012
A controversial climate change sculpture was removed after it upset donors from the energy industry in the US. Kevin Smith asks whether corporate sponsorship by companies like BP and Shell has an affect on artistic freedom in the UK
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November 16th, 2012
A Christian man who was
demoted after making posts opposing gay marriage on Facebook won in an employment case against his employers today. Adrian Smith, an employee of Manchester’s Trafford Housing Trust, lost his managerial position and received a 40 per cent pay cut after receiving a written warning from his employer reprimanding him for making a post saying that allowing same-sex weddings in churches were “an equality too far”. The court ruled that the demotion was a breach of contract, as Smith’s posts were made on a private page and outside of working hours. A legal technicality limited Smith’s damages to £100.
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Tags: Tags: Adrian Smith, Christianity, employment law, Facebook, freedom of expression, gay marriage, religion, social media, Trafford Housing Trust, UK,
November 14th, 2012
Will a new Director General be enough to save the BBC asks Index’s Kirsty Hughes
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