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In a defamation action in the Queen’s Bench Division of the English High Court presided over by Mr Justice Dingemans, it was determined in a judgment given on 9 April 2014 that the broadcaster, Channel 5, and the production company, Endemol UK Limited, were not liable for vile and abusive words used by one contestant against another in the reality television show Big Brother. Although the words were vile and abusive, they were not deemed to be defamatory of the recipient of the verbal attack. During the broadcast on the 25th June 2012, one contestant, Mr McIntyre, was abusive towards another contestant,...

In a decision published on 3 March 2014, Ofcom found that public sector broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), had breached the Ofcom Rules 1.3 and 2.3; namely inappropriate scheduling and a risk of being seen by children, and containing potentially offensive material, by broadcasting a current affairs programme depicting graphic scenes of physical and sexual violence arising during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Under the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.: Rule 1.3 states: “Children must be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for them”; Rule 2.3 states; “In...

On 6 May 2014, Ofcom found Channel 5 in breach of its guidelines, after the broadcaster repeated a risqué episode of the reality show Celebrity Big Brother, in which housemates talked freely about their sexual experiences, during a time when children were watching. Five viewers complained to the watchdog, after the show, which also involved celebrities making “rude food”, was rebroadcast on a Sunday (morning) at 11.30 am. Ofcom said that BARB (Broadcasters Audience Review Board) viewing figures revealed that out of 290,000 viewers, 33,500 had been aged 16 or under, including 8,800 children aged...

In a decision published on 3 February 2014, Ofcom determined that two RT news bulletins had not depicted blogger Mr Eliot Higgins (who has a pseudonym of Brown Moses) unfairly by referring to the footage appearing on his website of Syrian rebel forces carrying out a chemical weapons attack as unauthenticated, without mentioning that Mr Higgins had queried the video’s veracity. RT (formerly known as Russia Today) is a global news and current affairs channel produced in Russia; in the United Kingdom the channel is broadcast on satellite and digital terrestrial platforms. Mr Higgins has a blogging...

The English Law Reform Commission is conducting a wide-ranging review of the area of law known as “contempt of court”. Basically, this relates to conduct that undermines or has the potential to undermine the course of justice. One amongst several areas of inquiry by the Commission is “contempt by publication” - which aims to balance the right of a defendant to a fair trial with the right of the publisher to freedom of expression (Article 6 v. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights). However, it is important that it is not just the substance of what is published that may be of concern....