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The European Court of Human Rights has held unanimously that there had been no violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the case of Times Newspapers v. the UK, because the British courts’ finding that the Times Newspapers Ltd had libelled G.L. by the continued publication on its Internet site of two articles did not represent a disproportionate restriction on the newspaper’s freedom of expression. The applicant in this case, Times Newspapers Ltd, is the owner and publisher of The Times newspaper, registered in England. It published two articles, in September...

The BBC Trust has decided not to overrule the decision of the Corporation’s Director-General refusing to broadcast an appeal from the Disasters Emergency Committee (representing 13 leading UK aid agencies) seeking donations for humanitarian relief for the residents of Gaza. The appeal was broadcast by the other public service broadcasters (though not by Sky). The Director-General had argued that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deeply divisive and that the suffering of civilians plays a central part in the political case each side makes in the “court of world opinion”. It was thus impossible...

BBC Worldwide (BBCW), ITV plc and Channel 4 Television Corporation (UKVOD) entered into a joint venture to offer video on demand content online. The working title was Project Kangaroo. It was intended to offer primarily UK-originated television content. On 30 June 2008, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the anticipated joint venture to the Competition Commission for investigation and report, under section 33(1) of the Enterprise Act 2002: the OFT may refer completed or proposed mergers which create or enhance a 25 per cent share of supply in the UK (or a substantial part thereof) or where...

The House of Lords, the UK’s highest court, has decided the procedure to be adopted in determining whether information held by the BBC can be obtained under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This Act, which came into effect in January 2005, creates duties for a public authority, when requested to provide information, to confirm whether it holds the information and to communicate it to the applicant. The right is subject to a large number of exemptions; decisions may be enforced by the Information Commissioner and then appealed to the Information Tribunal, both of which have wide powers to decide...

The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the UK communications regulator, has issued the final report of its second Public Service Broadcasting Review. It is obliged by the Communications Act 2003 to undertake such a review at least every five years; this follows an earlier report setting out options for the future (see IRIS 2008-10: 12). The Review focused on how to ensure the delivery of content which fulfils public purposes and meets the interests of citizens and consumers throughout the UK, aiming to make recommendations which responded to the huge changes brought about by the transition to the...