26 Oct 2016 | Index in the Press
Social media has played an important role in recent social movements, from the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter, but technology can potentially undermine democracy as well as empower it. In particular, search engine algorithms and electronic voting machines provide opportunities for manipulation of voters and votes, which could profoundly affect the 2016 election. Read the full article
26 Oct 2016 | Index in the Press
Index on Censorship magazine is discussed in Times Literary Supplement podcast.
With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Elaine Showalter on how extreme misogyny turned Clinton vs Trump into woman vs man; Jonathan Barnes on the long shadow of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’; Houman Barekat on 250 years of ‘Index on Censorship’ and the mutable and myriad threats to free speech; Lara Feigel on two books, by the late Sue Lloyd-Roberts and Lara Pawson, about violence and the sufferings of women around the world – how much progress is there? Download the Shades of Censorship podcast on iTunes
26 Oct 2016 | Index in the Press
Cake decoration seems like an odd thing to divide a society, but it’s causing a major rift in Northern Ireland.
On Tuesday the Belfast Court of Appeal ruled that the family-owned Ashers bakery discriminated against Gareth Lee, a member of the city’s QueerSpace collective, by refusing to honor his order for a cake decorated with a picture of “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie and a slogan in support of equal marriage. Read the full article
25 Oct 2016 | Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Media Freedom, Statements
Impress has been recognised as an approved regulator by the Press Regulation Panel under the Royal Charter.
The major concern for Index on Censorship remains Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which sets out that an organisation which does not join a recognised regulator but falls under its remit (through being considered a “relevant publisher”) will potentially become subject to exemplary damages should they end up in court, and could also be forced to pay the costs of their opponents. While that remains on the statute and while there is an approved regulator, there is a significant threat to press freedom in the UK.
Though the current government has said it will not enforce Section 40 who knows what a future government might do.
Index on Censorship has fought for free speech since 1972, and as publishers ourselves, we will not join a regulator that has to be approved by a body created by the state. This means we – and many other small publishers – could face crippling costs in any dispute, threatening investigative journalism or those who challenge the powerful or the wealthy.
Index has called for cheaper mediation in press disputes as we, like Impress funder Max Moseley and Impress chair, Walter Merricks, believe this is better for free speech. Where we disagree is in the need for a regulator to be recognised by a panel appointed via the state – or for law that makes it, in effect, compulsory to join an approved regulator or face punitive costs.
