The Libel Reform Campaign is calling for the government to honour manifesto promises for a defamation bill with a strong public interest defence to protect authors, bloggers, scientists, academics and NGOs
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David Cameron has announced plans to block access to pornography online, with providers offering the choice to turn on a filter.
In a 2009 edition of Index on Censorship magazine Seth Finkelstein examines how indiscriminate blocking systems can be a source of censorship
The Metropolitan police has backed down from its threat to use the Official Secrets Act to force Guardian journalists to reveal sources in the phone-hacking scandal investigation. The Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Mark Simmons, admitted that the attempt was “not appropriate.” Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian welcomed the withdrawal of the “ill-judged order”, and said that “threatening reporters with the Official Secrets Act was a sinister new device to get round the protection of journalists’ confidential sources.” Index condemned the efforts on Friday, and Chief Executive John Kampfner said that the move was “shocking” and “a direct attack on a free press.”
The Metropolitan Police have served a notice of application for a production order on the Guardian seeking “all published and unpublished footage and images between 6 to 10 August with respect to the disorder within London and the area policed by the Met Police”. David Cameron had earlier told MPs that the media has a “responsibility” to immediately release footage to help police track down and punish those responsible for the violence in August. Journalists and media organisations expressed concern over the request, with broadcasters BBC and ITN maintaining that police must follow the proper procedure of obtaining a court order to avoid compromising editorial standards.