Wednesday 24 October 2012

English legal origins of seditious libel and free speech

Note that this article from 1985 explains that treason (and licensing laws) had been used for anti-government publishing until about 1700, when seditious libel in general (i.e. non-personal attacks) was effectively invented by Lord Chief Justice Holt. The free speech campaigner who first used the expression was Daniel Defoe who wrote the novel 'Robinson Crusoe'.

Friday 19 October 2012

SCL Media Group Seminar Report: Intermediary Liability

SCL Media Group Seminar Report: Intermediary Liability: "In relation to claims for misuse of private information, injunctions will be ordered only if there is a certain level of seriousness involved and if the outcome of the balancing exercise carried out between the claimant's Article 8 and the defendant's Article 10 rights is in favour of the claimant.  Recent cases have involved questions of how effective injunctions are in the Internet age, and suggest that they are still considered an appropriate remedy despite widespread publication on the Internet." 'via Blog this'

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Man gets community sentence for Facebook post about dead soldiers

Man gets community sentence for Facebook post about dead soldiers | UK news | guardian.co.uk: "The remarks were derogatory, disrespectful and inflammatory, the court ruled in September as a district judge found him guilty of a grossly offensive communication. He will complete 240 hours of community service over a two-year period, the court ruled.
Sentencing him on Tuesday, the district judge Jane Goodwin told him he was "particularly foolish" and the damage caused by his comments, which could be seen by at least 600 Facebook users, had been substantial." 'via Blog this'

Monday 1 October 2012

Thailand’s Lese Majeste Law: ‘A Strange Legislation that Needs Reform’

Thailand’s Lese Majeste Law: ‘A Strange Legislation that Needs Reform’ · Global Voices: "Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code is often described as the world’s harshest Lese Majeste (anti-royal insult) law. The controversial law is often invoked to censor web content and shut down websites. Aside from webmasters, even ordinary citizens have been jailed for allegedly sending mobile phone text messages that insult the royal family.
Scholars and activists have been demanding a reform of the law but the government has dismissed the petition." 'via Blog this'

Italian libel sentencing 'should be referred to human rights court'

Italian libel sentencing 'should be referred to human rights court' - Telegraph: "Italy's Supreme Court in Rome upheld a conviction and 14 month sentence handed down by a lower court in Milan against Alessandro Sallusti, the editor of Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by Silvio Berlusconi's brother. The decision has prompted calls for Italy's archaic libel laws to be reformed.
The court ruled that Mr Sallusti was responsible for an article by an anonymous columnist, printed in 2007 by another right-wing newspaper he edited, which called for the death penalty for a judge who had granted a 13-year-old girl the right to have an abortion.
Mr Sallusti was judged to have defamed the judge by printing the story." 'via Blog this'