News: European Data Protection reforms – the main innovations – Gervase de Wilde

On 25 January 2012 the European Commission released the EU’s keenly anticipated new Data Protection Regulation and Directive.  A large array of resources, including the full text of the proposed new rules, is available on the Commission’s website. The UK’s own Information Commissioner has published an initial response to the proposals, broadly welcoming them.  

Why the US Web Piracy Bills walked the Plank – Kirsten Sjovoll

Little introduction is needed to the furore that has resulted from two pieces of US anti-piracy legislation. The Stop Online Piracy Act (“SOPA”) and its sister bill “Protect IP [Intellectual Property] Act (“PIPA”) started out with the backing of Silicon Valley, the White House and – perhaps less helpfully – Rupert Murdoch. Yet they now find themselves very much in the dark as they are shelved by the US Senate in the aftermath of the high profile “black out” by Wikipedia and other sites.

Inforrm: New Feature – Resources

Inforrm Resources

Our regular readers will have noticed a new feature on the home page this week – a “Resources” box in the right hand column.  We have introduced this to provide instant access to some resources which are useful to media lawyers but which some readers may find difficult to locate quickly.

Leveson: Could Press Regulation include Libel Arbitration? – Hugh Tomlinson QC

During the first seven weeks of evidence at his inquiry, Lord Justice Leveson has visited the outer reaches of journalism and ethics. But he has to look beyond the paparazzi packs and the story-lobbing editors and make practical recommendations for “effective policy and regulation”. A tempting menu of at least 12 regulatory models has been presented. The large and difficult question is which of these is at once practical and strikes the right balance between individuals, the public, and the press.

Should bankers be named and shamed? Strasbourg latest – Rosalind English

On the face of it Standard Verlags GmbH v. Austria (no. 3) (no. 34702/07) is no more than a run of the mill Strasbourg case (in a line running from Bladet Tromso through Fressoz and Roire to Flinkkilä and Others) concerning freedom of speech in one of the Convention signatory states where media controls are a great deal more stringent than they are here. However with the ongoing Leveson inquiry and speculation about its future recommendations occupying many column inches in the UK media it is instructive to see how other countries apply their press restrictions and indeed how Strasbourg approaches any challenge brought against them.

Law and Media Round Up – 23 January 2012

It was a busy media law week at the Royal Courts of Justice, with the seventh week of the Leveson Inquiry and the settlement of 37 phone hacking cases against News International. Inforrm had a report of the week at Leveson compiled by Natalie Peck, here. It included evidence from the editor of Private Eye, Ian Hislop, magazine and regional press editors, which provided perspectives outside “Fleet Street”.

Inforrm Blog – Happy Second Birthday

Today is the second birthday of the Inforrm blog – which began operation on 22 January 2010.   Our first post “Welcome to Inforrm” attracted 2 visitors in January 2010 and the site had a total of 7 pages views that month.  That was the only post for the month.  The posting rate and visitor numbers have increased dramatically since the early days.  In our first two years we have had a total of 980 posts and 800,000 page views.  We have an established readership all round the world.

News: Leveson Inquiry, Week 7 – Times, Guardian, Ian Hislop, magazine and regional editors – Natalie Peck

In Week 7 of the Leveson Inquiry, Lord Justice Leveson continued to hear evidence from editors and executives of the press. Editors of the “Times”, the “Sunday Times”, and the “Guardian” took to the stand, along with those from “Hello!”, “OK!” and “Heat” magazines. The inquiry also heard from regional and nations editors from across Britain.  The most entertaining evidence of the week was perhaps that given by Ian Hislop, editor of “Private Eye”.

Case Law: R (Associated Newspapers) v Lord Justice Leveson: Challenge to Anonymity Ruling Dismissed

On Friday 20 January 2012 the Administrative Court dismissed the second application for judicial review of the Leveson Inquiry ([2012] EWHC 57 (Admin)).   The Court dismissed an application by Associated Newspapers (supported by the Daily Telegraph) to quash the decision of the Chairman, Lord Justice Leveson. decision to admit evidence from journalists who wish to remain anonymous on the ground that they fear career blight if they identify themselves. 

What did the Times know about computer hacking and when? – David Allen Green [Updated]

In 2009, the Times “outed” an anonymous blogger. It was a strange exercise at the time. A “quality” newspaper devoted its resources to forcing into the public domain the identity of the author of the popular and extremely well-written police blog known as “NightJack”. As Paul Waugh and others noted as it happened, it was somewhat weird and unfortunate that a newspaper which should respect anonymity as a condition for providing useful information was exposing an anonymous writer providing useful information.