Index has significant concerns about the UK government’s proposals for online harms and their unintended consequences on free speech
UK online harms proposals could gravely impact free speech
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Index on Censorship
Contents – Masked by Covid: The underreported stories of 2020 that must be heard
A look at what’s inside our Winter 2020 issue, which looks at the stories that should have received more attention were it not for Covid
Masked by Covid
Volume 49.03 Autumn 2020
Slapp lawsuit against Swedish magazine Realtid filed in London
Index and other press freedom organisations call for an end to litigation designed to silence valuable and necessary investigative journalism
Let them know they are not forgotten
Join us in sending messages of support to six human rights activists and journalists around the world who are #JailedNotForgotten
Index launches report looking at the real-world effects of Slapps on journalists
As 60 organisations come together to ask the EU to develop legislation to stop vexatious lawsuits, we publish journalists’ accounts of being slapped with legal action
Slapped down: A report
Six journalists speak about the legal efforts to silence them over their reporting
Index launches interactive tool for journalists facing legal threats
The launch is part of the #StopSlapps campaign against the use of lawsuits to silence the media
UK lawyers uneasy about plan to prosecute hate speech at home (The Guardian)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ruth Smeeth, Index's CEO, explained her criticism of the proposed removal of the "dwelling" privacy exemption currently in UK law. The change would mean a legal grey area where people could theoretically be...
Hate crime bill: Law would criminalise teatime chats, claim campaigners (Times)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index CEO Ruth Smeeth warned of new legislation in Scotland that would "govern what we say to each other over a cuppa". The new "hate crime bill" proposed in Scotland has been heavily criticised since its...
Index on Censorship receives lifeline grant from Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund
We have been awarded £55,441 as part of a government fund to help those in the arts face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic
New ‘online harm’ legislation is a threat to free speech (Independent)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship CEO Ruth Smeeth has voiced her concerns regarding the proposed Online Harms Bill. Smeeth wrote in The Independent that the legislation, though well intentioned, would risk campaigning for...