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The Editors' Code of Practice, under which the clear majority of Britain’s newspaper, magazine and news website journalists operate, was reviewed in 2017, and changes to it became effective from 1 January 2018. The Code is regarded as the “cornerstone” of the UK press self-regulatory system. Its rules, which are framed by the Editors’ Code of Practice Committee, set standards that the voluntarily subscribing industry members have agreed to maintain. Editors and publishers can be held to account via the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which became the new regulatory body for the...

On 25 January 2018, Ofcom issued a sanction decision concerning Al Arabiya News, which is an Arabic language news and current affairs channel. The Ofcom licence for Al Arabiya News is held by Al Arabiya News Channel FZ-LLC. The issue concerned unfair treatment and unwarranted infringement of privacy in connection with the obtaining of material included in a programme broadcast by Al Arabiya News in February 2016 about an attempt in February and March 2011, by a number of people (including the complainant, Mr Hassan Mashaima) to turn Bahrain from a kingdom into a republic. The programme included...

Following last year’s phase one enquiry by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concerning the proposed merger between 21st Century Fox and Sky Plc (see IRIS 2017-8/26), the CMA has commenced the phase two enquiry, publishing its provisional findings on 23 January 2018. The CMA concluded that Fox taking full control of Sky is not in the public interest due to media plurality concerns. However, the CMA considered that Fox and Sky had a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards in the UK. The CMA observed that the Murdoch Family Trust (MFT) controls Fox and News Corporation (News...

On 18 January 2018 and 22 January 2018, two decisions were delivered in cases concerning the right to be forgotten, although the matters raised in these pre-trial hearings are procedural, both flagging up the impact - in different ways - of such orders on freedom of expression. The NT1 case concerns two claims brought against Google LLC. The two claimants (NT1 and NT2) are unconnected, but the legal issues raised in the claims are the same. Both NT1 and NT2 were convicted of offences, but those convictions are now “spent” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. After citing paragraphs 80-81...

The Digital Economy Act 2017 includes provisions requiring that age verification measures be put in place for pornographic websites. If pornography is made available on a commercial basis without such measures, the publisher will become liable to a number of penalties, including fines and requiring Internet service providers to block access, including access to other material of the publisher (IRIS 2017-117). The UK Government has now taken steps to designate the regulator responsible for implementing and enforcing these provisions: the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The Board is...