Tag: freedom of expression
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Paul Bernal: Internet Anonymity: A Very British Dilemma
Andy Smith, a senior security official at the Cabinet Office, caused quite a stir at the Parliament and Internet Conference last month, when he suggested that people should use false names and provide false information on the internet – and in particular, when using social networking sites. Reaction was explosive in both directions: Labour MP…
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Jacob Rowbottom: Campaign Lies and the First Amendment
It is now a tradition that during an America presidential election year, commentators shall declare the campaigns to be the ‘nastiest’ and ‘dirtiest’ ever. It is difficult to know whether such a claim is true of the 2012 election, as tough campaigning has a long history in the USA (as a NY Times article from…
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Bradley W. Miller: The repeal of hate speech legislation in Canada
It is not uncommon for legislatures to amend and rework human rights legislation. Nevertheless, the bald repeal of a human rights provision is unusual. The Canadian Parliament’s move to repeal human rights legislation related to ‘hate messages’ is extraordinary. Bill C-304 has received third reading in the House of Commons and is now before the…
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Tom Hickman: Freedom of expression and the Olympics
One may question whether “the practice of sport is a human right”, as stated in the Olympic Charter. But it cannot be doubted that it is not as important as the right of freedom of expression, which is regarded as fundamental to democracy. Yet this right seems often to be trammeled in the name of…
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Paul Bernal: Between a European Rock and an American Hard Place?
Europe and the US have had very different approaches to privacy – and in particular data privacy – for a very long time. Data protection, the centrepiece of European data privacy law, is currently undergoing a reform – and that reform is highlighting the differences in attitude, approach and understanding of privacy and its place…
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Jacob Rowbottom: Press independence and the Leveson Inquiry
The view of the press as the ‘fourth estate’ is sometimes described by media historians as a myth created to legitimise the press in the nineteenth century. It has nonetheless had an enduring role in debates about press freedom. While the meaning of the term ‘fourth estate’ seems to have changed over the years, now…
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Stephen Sedley on superinjunctions and parliamentary privilege
Stephen Sedley, the UKCLG’s honorary president, has an article in the London Review of Books “The Goodwin and Giggs Show” (2011) Vol. 33(12) that will be of interest to many UKCLG members. Read it here.