In Wake Of NewsCorp Scandal, UK Says Press Must Be Regulated... But Free... But Not Exactly
from the completely-independent,-except-for-all-this-other-stuff dept
Between the UK's onerous libel laws, its insistence on "protecting" freedom of speech and press while attaching a million exceptions to this "freedom," and the recent phone-hacking scandal that saw Rupert Murdoch's papers crossing lines that even the most loathsome of hacky tabloids had yet to cross, one often wonders exactly what the hell is going on over there.Apparently, a few people in the UK are wondering that as well. A nine-month inquiry into the "culture, practice and ethics" of the journalism business has yielded one potential solution, which should have quotes thrown around it immediately. paidContent reports that Lord Justice Leveson, who has been dealing with the issues surrounding the NewsCorp case, has a suggestion: independent regulation.
The UK government must legislate to establish a new press "self-regulation" body — independent of both publishers and politicians but overseen by media regulator Ofcom — because newspapers have "wreaked havoc" in the lives of innocents, says the nine-month inquiry report into the culture, practice and ethics of the business.It's hard to imagine the words "legislate," "independent" and "safeguard individuals' rights" all working together peaceably. While certain newspapers certainly haven't given the impression that they're capable of holding themselves to ethical standards, it hardly seems like Plan B should be legislated into existence.
Lord Justice Leveson, who has been hearing issues including the "hacking" of mobile phones for news stories, said the existing Press Complaints Commission (PCC), comprised of newspaper editors, is "not actually a regulator at all". And he has rejected news publishers' alternative suggestion of binding themselves to ethical standards by commercial contracts.
Instead, he is advising the government to legislate the creation of a new independent body to promote "high standards" and safeguard individuals' rights, run by a chair and a board who will hold publishers to a code.
You also have to wonder which "individuals" are going to have their rights safeguarded. The use of injunctions (and the double-secret "Super Injunction") and the general encouragement of powerful individuals to use very amicable libel laws to shut down criticism or exposure of uncouth behavior doesn't really set the stage for protecting the rights of journalists. Leveson "addresses" this issue... by passing the buck to legislators.
Leveson is leaving the definition of that code and the implementation of the new body to whomever Prime Minister David Cameron, should he follow the recommendation, might appoint to set them up. But Leveson suggests the code should outline what constitutes "public interest" – a thorny topic on which newspapers and others often disagree.Well, good luck with that. Those in the journalism field will certainly want to keep their rights safeguarded and those who prefer to tamp out criticism and unflattering reporting will certainly want to keep theirs "safe" as well. It all sounds very zero sum, which is probably why it's being kicked down the road.
The Lord Justice is certainly correct that some newspapers have behaved reprehensibly. But it hardly follows that legislated "independent" regulation is the solution. Leveson wants to hand this over to Ofcom, which already regulates UK radio, telecommunications infrastructure and broadcasting standards. Certainly, Ofcom has the regulation experience, but it's another egg in its already very loaded basket. Consolidation of regulatory power rarely turns out well. Levenson insists that this is not intended to grant the government control of the press:
"This is not, and cannot be characterised as, statutory regulation of the press. The legislation would not establish a body to regulate the press: it would be up to the press to come forward with their own body that meets the criteria laid down.All well and good in theory, but the last paragraph is troubling. If this isn't going to be a case of the government or its legislated independent regulator telling the press what to print, why the wording concerning "placement and prominence of corrections and apologies?" This sentence seems to indicate that certain individuals' rights will be respected and safeguarded, if not more often, then definitely at a higher level. If papers offend the wrong person, someone will be there to tell them how much they should prostrate themselves, as well as where and in what font size.
"The legislation would not give any rights to Parliament, to the Government, or to any regulatory (or other) body to prevent newspapers from publishing any material whatsoever.
"Nor would it give any rights to these entities to require newspapers to publish any material except insofar as it would require the recognised self-regulatory body to have the power to direct the placement and prominence of corrections and apologies in respect of information found, by that body, to require them."
Prime Minister David Cameron has responded... by kicking the issue right back.
"For the first time, we would have crossed the rubicon of writing elements of press regulation into the law of the land.I believe the PM has misspoken. He must have meant "any additional legislation that has the potential to infringe on free speech and a free press." I would certainly hope the outcome of the NewsCorp unpleasantness wouldn't result in more limitations to the UK's very limited speech and press. If anything defeats unpleasant speech, it's more speech -- not more regulation.
"We should, I believe, be wary of any legislation that has the potential to infringe free speech and a free press.
"In this House – which has been a bulwark of democracy for centuries – we should think very, very carefully before crossing this line."
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: hacking scandal, journalism, regulations, uk
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
As far as illegal activity like phone hacking is concerned, there are already laws in place that are supposed to guard against this sort of thing. These laws did not stop the News of the World so does anyone really believe that regulation of the press would fare any better?
The only regulation should be self regulation and there should be measures in place to deal with those who break the journalistic code. Politicians should never interfere with the press.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
The manager screwed up, made and apology in public and resigned is that not enough?
I see you want blood and if it doesn't happen it will never be good enough.
For all intent and purposes this was as good as having jailed the people responsible for allowing that to happen, but it was without the need to create new laws that could find their way in censorship, without wasting tax payer money or having to use excessive force to do anything.
In fact, the BBC is now in the same position that they put the Lord there, so it seems they paid in kind, but that is not going to be enough for you is it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: "Regulation" =Kick the crime down the line!
Considering the Prosecutor has not disclosed any information that the phone companies have provided to tell just exactly who, when, how, each of the phones used by the Murdock's and their agents, the inquiry isn't even half discovered.
Any and all of the phone logs are saved and all of the ways anyone connected to any source can be annylized through computer analogs very easily. There's enough of a smoking gun over this to consider that the Murdocks have been black mailing elected leaders and CEOs all over the world...There's enough to consider that they profitted through such intrusions into privacy, had malicious intent, and did in many cases harm, intimidate, and bribed their way into their current status as a huge size of the world's media. To those who much has been given, much is expected", to those who abuse the power of the media with such arrogance, let the prosecutor consider that the justice he is afraid to offer through legal consequence is more of an undoing than any blackmail he fears. To appease the Murdocks abuse of power is no less than that of Hitler. All breaks in the law are theft, theft of the truth, and theft of privacy are sacred to the strength of respect to humanity and any Republic it hopes to achieve. Rupert Murdock believes he is above the law and this Prosecutor must be tempted to prove Murdock correct.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Press vs. Papparazzi
The Press, by definition, is supposed to be accountable about people and events in the world they report. Members of the press regularly risk their livelyhoods, go to great lengths to get their stories, and report it accurately whilen pinning in their own opinion about them or how it makes them or the public feel. Blogs, such as this one, tend to voice the opinion of their writers, who also get their information without violating the basic rights of others.
The Paparazzi regularly violates privacy rights and send toadies out with very little pay to do their bidding. They are intrusive in every way, shape and form. They are cowardly and sometimes have a mofia mentality towards those they report on, often using blackmail as a weapon or tool to get what they want from you...regardless if it is true.
It's one thing to put forth a story about an event that makes you feel one way or the other about an event and potentially risk your life extracting the truth. But when you encroach upon the rights of others to get what you want, you are no member of the press...and the problem is that the ladder of these two is being confused with the term "Press".
On those ground alone, regulation of the paparazzi claiming to be members of the press is most definitely needed.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
Because I get the feeling how you would define it would be rather different from how it would be defined by say, someone in a position of power that doesn't care to have any dirty dealings made public.
Now I agree if someone is breaking a law to get a story, they need to be punished, but they're already breaking current laws doing so, so there's no need to add another layer to it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
I'm reminded a lot of what J.K Rowling said and I stand by what she defines as paparazzi....an invasive intrusion blackmailing organization to get what they want.
Most responsible members of the press don't use blackmail. Yes pressure is involved to get a reaction of change to the public and to report the views and opinions of said public at times. Also, the personal privacy of people also has to be considered.
Some of the laws are already in place to a degree, but the Paparazi get around it by citing "Freedom of Press" and the fact that the privacy rights if others gets severely overlooked. One has to only look at the death of Princess Diana to see what I mean.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
Further regulation of paparazzi is also regulation of photography that can be used for censorship purposes, probably unnecessary because we already have laws that deal with people who cross the line.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
A legislated independent authority investigating the filth that Murdoch and his cowards and their like have perpetrated as or soon after it occurs is a rational, equitable and ethical measure... exactly why Cameron and his haw haw lapdogs won't do it, they are in bed with the barons, and with the sheets pulled up to their pale,skinny, chinless tory craws...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
Murdoch broke the law, wiretapping people without consent from authority or the other party is already a crime, making use of force to compel people to talk is a crime but apparently you want to make it being insistent a crime too.
Did anybody molested Mrs. Rowlands children?
Where they in danger of a psycopath papparazzi? which by the way is why restraining orders where invented in the first place.
This indignation is like huff and puff all air and no substance, no real substance.
What it does though is give ammunition to the enemies of freedom to attack and erode even further the bases of a free society.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Press vs. Papparazzi
It can be creepy yes, but not a problem to be solved using a hammer, this is not a nail to be driven into the glass of freedom of speech because you feel uncomfortable is that clear enough for you dude?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
When will my country learn? Congress shall make no law!
If anything, we need less regulation: superinjunctions that stop women from calling out on their cheating husbands, disgraceful libel laws that allow Roman Polanski to sue Vanity Fair from France, jail time for offensive Twitter comments (but papers or websites who reproduce the offensive comments get no jail time), restrictions on religious criticism especially with Islam, and thought (sorry, "hate") speech bans that treat bomb-scarred war veterans like children by shielding their eyes from the supposedly horrendous image of burning poppies. All of this has to stop right now.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: When will my country learn? Congress shall make no law!
The problem with the PCC is that it has the same level of bite as a newborn baby - that is, very little. So whilst I understand the cries of "Freedom of the Press", that is not what Leveson is recommending - he's recommending a new body, backed by legal framework, that has the power not only to levy considerable fines on newspapers, but also has enough ability to make the Press not ignore its wishes. And I'll be honest here, that's a very tight rope to walk.
One thing I'm damn sure of, is that Call-Me-Dave isn't doing this to benefit the public - he's doing this so that his buddies don't get into trouble. Because if I were Leveson, I would definitely consider making sure that everyone with a case of "amnesia" at the inquiry from Murdoch down had been clean as a whistle, and those that hadn't would be sold down the river for a good stint in the Scrubs.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: When will my country learn? Congress shall make no law!
And this is because the rest of us with our more civilised states of mind would still benefit from the horrible speech. I come from a background in skepticism and pro-enlightenment, and one thing you learn is that science, or the pursuit of knowledge in general, is not just about finding out what is true as a matter of fact, but also what is false as a matter of fact. The knowledge that racism, for example, is a lie is something that is vital for humanity, and in order for humanity to be educated the best it can in regards to the issue you must allow racists to speak their minds so that we know what to resist. If they are silenced for whatever reason, it means that a society becomes that little bit more ignorant of the evils of this world and also harder to resonate with people outside the society who really do suffer at the hands of racist ideology.
This independent body that is being proposed is just an extension of something I already disagree with, which is Ofcom. That I fully understand. But I don't buy the original proposition; I cannot stand the idea that people regularly send in complaints to Ofcom based on the fact that a T.V. show is too offensive, putting a degree of censorial pressure on all T.V. media to "play down" and be polite. Where I come from, that's a very contemptible attitude to be having. It's the ideology of a society that wants a quiet life and does not want to face up to serious issues overseas. The whole point of free expression is that being offensive is a necessity.
And now we are saying we want to extend this principle to newspapers and magazines? Where any kind of mildly provocative dissent is condemned by a mob of people who were already determined to be offended? Come on. Get serious. I'm not going to be told by a bunch of uneducated loonies that they are good enough to tell me what I can and cannot read. I'm not a child.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But all this was never reported by the media, in the hands of Zionists.
The future of the World depends on what we make of 9/11.
http://www.wavevolution.org/en/index.html
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
it would require the recognised self-regulatory body to have the power to direct the
placement and prominence of corrections and apologies in respect of information found, by that body, to require them."
As I read it, is about making sure that any apologies are more visible.
So if your are libelled on front page in 20point the apology is not in 8pt on page 27 under the thumb
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Corrupt enforcers
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
it's also typical of Cameron. he instigated the inquiry but now doesn't want to implement the recommendations. what is the point of that? might just as well have allowed Murdoch and the arse holes that work(ed) for him continue doing the same thing. as for Murdoch himself, he didn't receive anywhere near the punishment he should have. it was his business. regardless of who he put in charge, he was still ultimately responsible for all that happened. being kept in the dark about certain practices is no excuse!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
From the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20543936), the proposed new law:
"Would:
Create a process to "validate" the independence and effectiveness of the new self-regulation body
Validate a new process of independent arbitration for complainants - which would benefit both the public and publishers by providing speedy resolutions
Place a duty on government to protect the freedom of press
Would not:
Establish a body to regulate the press directly
Give any Parliament or government rights to interfere with what newspapers publish."
In other words, he's proposing something like (1) a new industry watchdog to replace the PCC, and (2) a statutory watchdog which double checks that (1) is living up to its own standards. Most other professional organisations and industries have this sort of arrangement.
As I understand it, the new system would be optional for most organisations anyway. Only the very largest (EG The Times, The Guardian) would be compelled to join the new system.
There is a lot of misinterpretation going on out there!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]