MLRC Bulletin 2017 Issue 2
Media Litigation in the High Court: Doing Justice in the Media and Communications List
By The Honourable Mr Justice Warby* Introduction The subject of my remarks today is the business of doing justice in media cases in the High Court of England and Wales. I want to suggest that achieving justice requires three things, at least: a substantive law that is fair; procedures that are just and efficient; and…
Privacy and the Press in the Digital Age: The Right to Know vs. The Right to be Forgotten
By Judge Ganna Yudkivska* I was asked to tackle the Court’s approach to the right to privacy, as protected by Article 8 of the Convention, in particular in the digital age – a topical and speedily developing issue. As technology develops, and the online world takes over the real world, our increasing online presence is…
Media Law Developments in Ireland
By Lesley Caplin and Ciara FitzGerald* 1. What’s the latest in Ireland? In summary, damages remain high, defamation actions remain a national pastime and trials are still characterised by juries and trial by ambush. The Defamation Act, 2009 (the “2009 Act”) has been in force for 7 years and has been the subject of a…
Equustek Solutions v Google: Erosion of the International Right to Freedom of Expression?
By Paul Schabas and Kaley Pulfer* I. Introduction In a decision which has alarmed and disappointed free expression advocates around the world, on June 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released its much anticipated ruling in Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Google Inc.[1] A 7-2 majority upheld an injunction requiring Google to remove links to…
An Introduction to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) for US Media Lawyers
By Timothy Pinto, Michael Yates and Sally Annereau* The GDPR is a sweeping set of EU rules regulating the processing of personal data. It comes into force on 25 May 2018 in all member states of the EU. It has extra-territorial scope for data controllers outside the EU in certain circumstances and gives rise to…
Could the U.S. Espionage Act Be Used to Prosecute Journalists?
By Ashley Messenger and Meenakshi Krishnan* While the United States government has never prosecuted a media organization or a journalist under the Espionage Act, whether it can legally do so is an unsettled question. In May 2006, then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales indicated that the Department of Justice could prosecute New York Times reporters under the…
Law Commission Espionage Act Proposals
By Louis Charalambous, Martin Soames, Jeffrey Smele and Erica Henshilwood* 1. Introduction On 2 February 2017 the UK’s Law Commission, the main law reform body for England and Wales, published proposals for the Espionage Act under the title ‘Protection of Official Data – a Consultation Paper’. It was drafted by Professor David Ormerod QC and…
How Europe is Tackling Fake News: An Update
By Bryony Hurst, Olaf Trojan, Andrea Giussani, Niels Lutzhoeft & Marion Barbier* In the MLRC’s monthly newsletter in May 2017, we authored an article setting out the varying approaches to regulation of fake news being implemented in different European countries. In a number of countries, the initiatives were in their infancy (for example, legislation had…
The Fourth Estate and the Fake Estate: Brexit, Trump and the Rise of Populism
By Judith Gibson* Presented at the MLRC Media Law Conference, London, 25 September 2017[1] What do recent political developments mean for the press and democracy in Europe and America? Why has it been so difficult to cover – predict – Trump, Brexit and other populist movements? How should the press and judiciary respond to the…
MLRC Bulletin 2017 Issue 2
Download Publication The Fourth Estate and the Fake Estate: Brexit, Trump and the Rise of PopulismBy Judge Judith Gibson How Europe is Tackling Fake News: An UpdateBy Bryony Hurst, Olaf Trojan, Andrea Giussani, Niels Lutzhoeft & Marion Barbier Law Commission Espionage Act ProposalsBy Louis Charalambous, Martin Soames, Jeffrey Smele and Erica Henshilwood Could the U.S….