10 May 2013 | Politics and Society
Yesterday’s Belfast Telegraph yesterday ran a strong leader on the fact that the Defamation Act, recently passed into law after a long campaign by Index and our partners and supporters in the Libel Reform Campaign, will not extend to Northern Ireland.
The paper comments:
The absence of any proper explanation as to why Northern Ireland has turned its back on the reforms is baffling. We would urge politicians to throw their weight behind a Private Members’ Bill put forward by [Ulster Unionist Party] leader Mike Nesbitt to have the Westminster reforms introduced here. The reforms do not stop people who have a genuine grievance and want to clear their reputation, but they raise the threshold for taking actions. They also create a stronger public interest defence in defamation cases. Surely, it is in the public interest to reform our outdated libel legislation.
Couldn’t agree more.
Meanwhile, Belfast lawyer Paul Tweed has already been hinting that the Titanic town could become the new “town called sue”, tweeting “Looks like libel litigants will now have to cross the Irish Sea to Belfast or Dublin in order to get access to justice.” A 1 May interview with Tweed in the Belfast Telegraph summed Tweed’s position up, beginning with: “Mention libel tourism and the first Northern Ireland lawyer most people think of is Paul Tweed.”
The same article notes that Tweed is currently campaigning for no-win-no-fee libel claims to be allowed in Belfast, noting “”The fact is that unless you have money you cannot bring a defamation action in Belfast. As things stand, I prefer to act in Dublin, not Belfast.”
Tweed’s firm Johnson’s would appeal to have stolen a march on London libel lawyers by already operating in Dublin, Belfast and London. Will other firms follow suit? Will we see Carter-Ruck taking the ferry to Larne? Schillings and Shilelaghs? The ruling parties in Northern Ireland should back Nesbitt’s attempt to bring libel reform to Northern Ireland before Belfast becomes the capital of censorship.
Padraig Reidy is senior writer for Index on Censorship. @mePadraigReidy
9 May 2013 | In the News
CANADA
Letter: Censorship has no place in our society
What a shameful affront by York Regional Police to the democratic liberties enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, namely freedom of speech and belief, in stopping Pamela Geller, an invited American anti-Islamist, from expressing her thoughts at a Thornhill synagogue. (York Region
CHINA
How to Jump the Great Firewall of China
As the Chinese government’s censorship tools becomes increasingly refined, Internet users have learned to circumvent the Great Firewall. Their primary technique is to communicate via the same networks as government agencies and major businesses. (Tech President/Personal Democracy Media)
ISRAEL
Another bad Israeli law
The libel bill, which was approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, would have a dangerous chilling effect on criticism of IDF operations. (Haaretz)
PAKISTAN
Blogging in Pakistan ain’t like blogging in America
At first, it was just Buzzfeed. I had moved back to Pakistan, where I intended to continue my full time work in online media, after almost 13 years in the United States. But the internet in Karachi did not appear to be the same internet I’d known and loved in America. (GlobalPost)
RUSSIA
Google Defeated in Russian YouTube Censorship Case
In February, Google filed an appeal in Russia to challenge the censorship of a YouTube video deemed unlawful. This week, Google was defeated. (Search Engine Watch)
UNITED KINGDOM
Editorial Viewpoint: Baffling silence on free speech threat
Every day, it seems, we get another example of the dysfunctional nature of government in Northern Ireland. In this case it concerns reforms to the libel laws which are being introduced in Britain. (Belfast Telegraph)
UNITED STATES
Judge Rules For Cheerleaders In Bible Banner Suit
A judge has ruled that cheerleaders at a Southeast Texas high school can display banners emblazoned with Bible verses at football games. (ABC News)
EA Claims Gun Designs Are Protected Under Free Speech
With guns becoming a hot topic of debate once more in the United States, EA has chosen to distance themselves from arms manufacturers; no longer will EA pay for the right to depict real firearms in their games. Just because they aren’t going to pay any longer, don’t expect EA to stop using depictions of real weapons and vehicles; EA believes their constitutional rights under the tenants of free speech allow their use of trademarks without permission. (Click)
North Dakota School Allows Pro-Life Poster After Initial Censorship
One day after receiving a letter from Alliance Defending Freedom, a North Dakota high school and its district agreed to allow a student’s pro-life poster that was part of a class assignment to be placed back on the walls of the school. (LifeNews.com
Free-speech protest at market not met with vendor applause
Though an Athens, Ohio, man says he got arrested at the Athens Farmers Market Saturday on behalf of free speech, his efforts don’t seem to have generated much enthusiastic support among vendors who sell their products there. (The Athens News)
Attorneys and activists say Illinois terrorism law is chilling free speech
Attorneys and activists say Illinois law is chilling free speech by defining legal activism as illegal terrorism.
The argument is being made on behalf of three men charged under Illinois’ terrorism law in connection with protests at last year’s NATO gathering in Chicago.(Medill Reports)
Farms And Free Speech
Senator Mike Brubaker (R-36) is hoping to introduce and pass a bill similar to a bill he proposed one year ago. This time, he said he’s made some adjustments. The bill would require anybody photographing or filming farms during undercover investigations to turn over footage to law enforcement before posting the footage anywhere else first. (CentralPA.com
7 May 2013 | In the News, Newswire
GLOBAL
The PS4′s Share Button Needs To Be All Or Nothing, Publisher Censorship Won’t Work
The PlayStation 4 is doing many things right. It’s ticking the boxes the developers want to see – it’s certainly powerful enough and that RAM is well received; it’s making gamers happy with great first party titles and solid third party support; and it’s making publishers happy – it’ll even offer publishers the ability to block which sections of the game players can share.
(The Sixth Axis)
EGYPT
How free are Egypt’s new voices?
Two years after the 2011 revolution in Egypt, a growing number of satellite TV channels are expressing a range of views – from liberal to ultra conservative. (BBC)
INDIA
Debate on free speech limits at Mario Miranda Cartoon Festival
After joining The Current in 1952, Mario Miranda drew his first political cartoon poking fun at Bombay’s home minister at the time, Morarji Desai. The cartoon delighted Miranda’s editor, DF Karaka, but annoyed Desai and elicited angry responses from the public. “That experience taught Mario the lesson that in India for an ambitious cartoonist to lampoon some political personage was to invite trouble,” wrote author Manohar Malgonkar in the book “Mario de Miranda”.
(The Times of India)
Resisting the impunity
The agency of journalists to push the envelope and the wider public’s demand for credible, trustworthy news sources are the positive development. On the flip side, there is a real fear of casting away the hard-won freedoms, and, as its extension, a vibrant, common forum for dialogue and debate is under severe strain. The challenges come from multiple sources.
(The Hindu)
Bollywood censorship to be relaxed
India’s all-powerful censor board is planning a lighter approach to Bollywood after decades chopping tens of thousands of film scenes, from onscreen kisses to violent endings.The Himalayan Times)
IRELAND
A crock of gold for libel tourists who bring cases to Emerald Isle
Ah, the good old law of unintended consequences pops up again. Who would have thought that Irish jobs could be affected by the passage at Westminster last week of the Defamation Act?
(Ruth Dudley-Edwards, Irish Independent)
MALAWI
President Joyce Banda waiting for advice on press pact
President Joyce Banda has said she is waiting for expert advice from the Attorney General (AG) and the Minister of Justice on whether to sign the Table Mountain Declaration. The President has come under fire from the press as well as human rights activists over her refusal to sign the accord which proposes abolition of insult laws in Africa.
(The Daily Times)
RUSSIA
A year into Russia crackdown, protesters try again
A year ago, Russia’s political opposition was on the rise and aiming for new heights at a demonstration on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration. Instead, authorities cracked down, ending their tolerance toward the thousands of Putin opponents who presented him with the greatest challenge to his rule since he took over the country in 2000.
(Washington Post)
UNITED KINGDOM
Why Britain Refuses To Publish Amanda Knox’s Memoir
We flatter ourselves when we boast of mastery of the ironic style. Unlike literal-minded Germans and Americans, we are not ashamed to live behind masks and speak in riddles. (Nick Cohen, the Observer)
7 May 2013 | Uncategorized
GLOBAL
The PS4’s Share Button Needs To Be All Or Nothing, Publisher Censorship Won’t Work
The PlayStation 4 is doing many things right. It’s ticking the boxes the developers want to see – it’s certainly powerful enough and that RAM is well received; it’s making gamers happy with great first party titles and solid third party support; and it’s making publishers happy – it’ll even offer publishers the ability to block which sections of the game players can share.
(The Sixth Axis)
EGYPT
How free are Egypt’s new voices?
Two years after the 2011 revolution in Egypt, a growing number of satellite TV channels are expressing a range of views – from liberal to ultra conservative. (BBC)
INDIA
Debate on free speech limits at Mario Miranda Cartoon Festival
After joining The Current in 1952, Mario Miranda drew his first political cartoon poking fun at Bombay’s home minister at the time, Morarji Desai. The cartoon delighted Miranda’s editor, DF Karaka, but annoyed Desai and elicited angry responses from the public. “That experience taught Mario the lesson that in India for an ambitious cartoonist to lampoon some political personage was to invite trouble,” wrote author Manohar Malgonkar in the book “Mario de Miranda”.
(The Times of India)
Resisting the impunity
The agency of journalists to push the envelope and the wider public’s demand for credible, trustworthy news sources are the positive development. On the flip side, there is a real fear of casting away the hard-won freedoms, and, as its extension, a vibrant, common forum for dialogue and debate is under severe strain. The challenges come from multiple sources.
(The Hindu)
Bollywood censorship to be relaxed
India’s all-powerful censor board is planning a lighter approach to Bollywood after decades chopping tens of thousands of film scenes, from onscreen kisses to violent endings.The Himalayan Times)
IRELAND
A crock of gold for libel tourists who bring cases to Emerald Isle
Ah, the good old law of unintended consequences pops up again. Who would have thought that Irish jobs could be affected by the passage at Westminster last week of the Defamation Act?
(Ruth Dudley-Edwards, Irish Independent)
MALAWI
President Joyce Banda waiting for advice on press pact
President Joyce Banda has said she is waiting for expert advice from the Attorney General (AG) and the Minister of Justice on whether to sign the Table Mountain Declaration. The President has come under fire from the press as well as human rights activists over her refusal to sign the accord which proposes abolition of insult laws in Africa.
(The Daily Times)
RUSSIA
A year into Russia crackdown, protesters try again
A year ago, Russia’s political opposition was on the rise and aiming for new heights at a demonstration on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration. Instead, authorities cracked down, ending their tolerance toward the thousands of Putin opponents who presented him with the greatest challenge to his rule since he took over the country in 2000.
(Washington Post)
UNITED KINGDOM
Why Britain Refuses To Publish Amanda Knox’s Memoir
We flatter ourselves when we boast of mastery of the ironic style. Unlike literal-minded Germans and Americans, we are not ashamed to live behind masks and speak in riddles. (Nick Cohen, the Observer)
