We have highlighted that the current drafting of “relevant publisher” for the purposes of the Leveson law risks capturing blogs and organisations like Big Brother Watch in a system of regulation never intended for them. The Government’s amendment to the Crime and Courts Bill exempts “a person who publishes a small-scale blog” from the definition of “relevant publisher” is an attempt to deal with growing concern, as demonstrated by the 20 person signatory letter in Saturday’s Guardian. Sadly the amendment … →
Our amendment to limit the damage
As the bell tolls for press freedom, the realisation that a whole host of tiny websites, including Big Brother Watch, would be covered by the provisions of the new press regulator is dawning on Westminster. On Monday, the Lords will vote on the legislation “underpinning” the Royal Charter on press-self regulation. They will determine who is to be a ‘relevant publisher’ and at present risks catching broadly any site that is has more than one author, carries news or information … →
Outstanding questions about Leveson’s Royal Charter
Today Parliament will vote on the Royal Charter for press regulation. While we have not yet seen the final details, serious concerns remain.The detail has been haggled over in two sets of meetings – one with the three party leaders, and one with Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Hacked Off. MPs should not be afraid to table amendments where the proposals do not work and we have highlighted three critical issues that must be addressed.
Four essential safeguards MPs must back
Time is running out to ensure that the British legal system is not fundamentally altered in favour of the State’s desire to keep secret what it chooses. Today several amendments to the Justice and Security Bill are before the House and we urge MPs to back them, if they are unwilling to vote against Part 2 of the Bill. The House of Lords amendments to safeguard the use of Closed Material Procedures were a reasonable and practical way of ensuring that legislation … →
Write to your MP about the Justice and Security Bill today
March 1, 2013
Posted in Civil Liberties, International, Legal Action, Ministry of Justice
5 Comments
Time is running out to ensure that the British legal system is not fundamentally altered in favour of the State’s desire to keep secret what it chooses. The House of Lords attempted to introduce safeguards to the Justice and Security Bill – but they were overturned at Committee stage in the Commons. The latest assessment from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, publishing its second legislative scrutiny report, warned that there were still a number of significant issues that had … →
Is your MP on the naughty list?
Several MPs have contacted us to ask why the Communications Data Bill is such a big deal – so how helpful that this week the perfect example came along! The Government claims the bill is necessary to address three data types: Reconcile IP addresses, capture weblogs and to deal with third party data. In practice, what would this mean? Well, the first data type is required to give the police “the ability to reconcile an Internet Protocol (IP) address to … →
Civilian Police Powers and Bowler Hats
Earlier this week, the MP for North East Somerset, Jacob Rees-Mogg said that those council officials with the power to issue fines for minor infractions should have to wear blower hats to be easily identified, and avoided, by the public. This is in response to a plan under way in the London boroughs which may grant town hall officials the power to force offenders of minor misdemeanours to turn over their personal details so that they can be charged a fine. At … →
Restricting Public Demonstrations at London Olympics
In the wake of the Occupy movement, student protests and TUC rallies in London over the past year, the Home Office has ordered officials to draft plans for avoiding public protests during the London 2012 Olympics. Such protests can be seen as both a security threat and an embarrassment to the host country. Understandably, Government officials are keen to avoid tarnishing the much-awaited events of the coming summer with angry crowds or vocal protesters. However, the means by which they intend to … →
EU Commission Changing the Rules on Airport Body Scanners
Today, the European Commission is releasing new rules for the use of airport body scanners. The rules are meant to give airline passengers more choices when it comes to submitting to airport security measures before flying. The new proposals ensure that images from body scanners are not stored or copied and that security staff monitoring the images do so in a separate room. The proposals also means that passengers will be offered the option of an alternative method of screening … →
Selling Personal Data
According to the ICO yesterday, a former gambling industry worker has plead guilty to committing three offences under section 55 of the Data Protection Act. For these offences, Marc Ben-Ezra was handed a three year conditional discharge and £1,700 fine in addition to just over £800 pounds in court fees. This is his penance for selling more than 65,000 individuals’ personal data for a profit of around £25,000. This case is a particularly blaring example of where the laws surrounding … →