Press Freedom

[poliphilo]

Tapping phones is against the law. If you do it you risk being sent to jail. And it's a law that's being applied. Only this week there have been arrests at Trinity Mirror.

So why do we need more regulation of the Press? Our Press is regulated very nicely, thank you.

In fact over-regulated. Our libel laws are a disgrace. They allow those with access to expensive lawyers (including foreigners) to shut down discussion of anything they don't want discussed. Currently they're stopping us from talking openly about elite paedophile rings. We're allowed to chew the bones of dead abusers like Jimmy Savile and Cyril Smith but can't go anywhere near the live ones.

Thank God for the Internet. 

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

We'll have to disagree on this one.

I belong to a minority that has been flagrantly abused by the press for decades starting, in my own memory, with Michelle Confait in the seventies and steadily thereafter every week or so. The only way I'll get any protection from this is by the press being prevented from doing it and the present press control legislation simply doesn't cut it.

It can be argued that the equality act should provide the said protectons but it clearly doesn't. I and others like me had rights removed by the passage of said legislation. :o(

That said, I agree with you that it's wrong that rich abusers and violaters can prevent themselves being exposed.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I take your point.

I'm simply afraid we'll defang the press by compelling it to play nicely. We need it to be a little bit feral- and prepared to go after the bastards at the top.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Course, the print press is a dying thing anyway so any legislation could be perceived as very old fashioned.

This is the 21st century and there are still tits all over page three of the Sun.

Says all one needs to hear really, doesn't it? :oS

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The papers are no longer the first port of call if you want to know what's really going on...

[resonant.livejournal.com]

Can you clarify for non-UK readers?

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

'K I'll essay! :o)

To start, I'm a trans woman (long transitoned and post surgery back in the seventies) and people in my position gained a raft of rights under something called the Gender Recognition Act in 2004-5 including right to be recognised in correct gender, right to a correct birth certificate right to marry, same protections as all women under relevant legislation and so forth.

The more recent Equality Act was supposed to clear up aspects of law about rights to privacy and basic human rights and unfortunately, a new government rushed it in to make themselves look good (Tories have a bad reputation on civil rights) and it actually inadvertantly removed rights from one minority- us! This included the right to be protected from press intrusion and they have been having a field day since (not that they didn't before!)

Hope this makes sense?

[resonant.livejournal.com]

Oh dear.

Our Tories are generally incompetent and evil, but they at least honour the concept of protecting basic human rights. Admittedly they weren't that way earlier, but today every political party with a seat in Parliament (and 12 of the 18 total political parties) officially supports LGBT rights. Not all party members agree (some Tories are still racist, transphobic idiots), but they're recognized as idiots by party leaders.

Having said that, the bill to make trans rights an explicit part of our legislation is still slogging through Parliament.


http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/22/warriors-for-gay-rights-the-conservatives-have-become-unlikely-lgbt-supporters/

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/11/27/tories-lgbt-rights-bill-_n_2200583.html

[resonant.livejournal.com]

Oh, just to clarify - I'm from Canada.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

:o)

A lot of friends of mine on here are and some are also trans so I'm sort of aware of the legislation!

Don't know why I know so many Canadians. :o)

[resonant.livejournal.com]

I spoke too soon! Our trans rights bill just was passed by the House of Commons, with support from Tory cabinet ministers being key to its success!

*dances*

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/03/20/pol-transgender-rights-bill-approved.html

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

The Slog guy is getting quite nervous today that he is going to get shut down. I do think the press needs to be radically reined in - google "Martin Robbins Daily Mail" for a good discussion of what's wrong. If they stuck to their own editors' code (also worth a google) there would be no problem with their exposing wrongdoing while maintaining other people's privacy.

I do agree that our libel laws need a redraw. There was some commentary earlier this week that Labour is trying to conflate the defamation legislation with Leveson legislation. As usual, important stuff gets turned into a bloody political poker game.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

John Ward does rather go out on a limb sometimes

I'll check out Martin Robbins.

None of the political parties is our friend.