Category: Irish Society

This is ‘Say No to Ageism’ Week 2007

| 2 Comments
| Irish Society

Say No to Ageism week poster via Equality Authority Today sees the Irish launch of the European Healthy Ageing Project 2004-2007‘s report on Healthy Ageing – a Challenge for Europe (pdf). The launch will be hosted by the National Council on Ageing and Older People (NCAOP) as part of ‘Say No to Ageism’ Week.

‘Say No to Ageism’ Week, 18-25 June (NCAOP press release here (pdf)), is a joint initiative of the National Council on Ageing and Older People, the Equality Authority and the Health Service Executive (HSE), and its aim is to promote awareness of ageism and an understanding of how ageism lies at the root of many of the barriers which older people encounter when accessing goods and services. More information from the NCAOP and the Equality Authority. As well as the launch of the Healthy Ageing report, this week will also see the launch of a report on an action plan to enhance age friendly service provision in public transport. …

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Is it ok to share wi-fi?

| 9 Comments
| Blogging, Contract, Irish Law, Irish Society, Media and Communications

That is a question posed by Kris Nelson on his blog, in propria persona. As usual, the answer is that “it depends”. I’ve already had a look at the issue from the perspective of potential criminal or civil liability if a user’s wifi is shared by a third party; and Daithí­ has taken the discussion several steps further. Now, Kris adds an additional consideration, directing the analysis to the terms of any contract between the ISP and the customer: …

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Here we go again

| 9 Comments
| advertising, Freedom of Expression, Irish Society, Media and Communications

The headline in today’s Sunday Independent says it all: Shock as ad on autistic children banned. Niamh Horan reports:

A new advertisement highlighting the urgent needs of autistic children in Ireland has been banned from radio stations on the grounds that it is too political.

Now Irish Autism Action [IAA], which champions the rights of Irish children suffering from autism, has said they are surprised that the ad was banned by both the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and the national State broadcaster, RTÉ.

We have been here before. …

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What do words mean?

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| Freedom of Expression, Irish Society, Media and Communications

Language is a tricky thing. It isn’t static, but evovles over time, by the introduction of new words, phrases, grammar and so on, and by movement in the meaning of words. New words are obvious, new meanings less so; moreover, as the new meaning becomes dominant, phrases using words in their old meanings either become unintelligible or are co-opted to the words’ new meanings. Most of the time, such shifts are subterranean, and matter little. But we should nevertheless be aware of this, so that we can make the necessary adjustments when it does matter. An example is provided by the front of today’s Sunday Independent …

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No such thing as a free lunch, even at BarCamp

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| Blogging, Irish Law, Irish Society, Media and Communications

antoin-at-barcamp.jpgOver coffee at BarCamp last Saturday with Marie Boran (of Silicon Republic) and Antoin Ó Lachtnáin, conversation turned to last week’s news reports (BBC | OUT-LAW.com | The Register) that two people (let’s call them the leeches) were arrested in the UK and cautioned for using other people’s (let’s call them the routers’) wifi without permission. There are interesting questions of legal liability here, both for the leech and for the router, and they came up again in the context of Antoin’s presentation later that day about fon. That’s Antoin preaching the fon gospel in the photo on the left. Here, I want to discuss some of the legal issues, before turning to Antoin’s presentation.

Let’s look first at the liability of the leech. …

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Responsible Headline

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| Irish Society, Media and Communications, Press Council

picture-7.pngYesterday saw another milestone in the development of responsible journalism in Ireland. Joining the Press Council (blogged here) on the roster is Headline, which, according to its website:

… is Ireland’s national media monitoring programme, working to promote responsible and accurate coverage of mental health and suicide related issues within the Irish media.

Managed by Schizophrenia Ireland, Headline was set up by the Health Service Executive‘s National Office for Suicide Prevention as part of Reach Out National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention (pdf). I learn from a piece by Carl O’Brien (who had launched the Headline website a fortnight ago with George Hook) in today’s Irish Times (sub req’d) that this important and welcome development is supported by the NUJ. Whether or not the media accept the prevasiveness of their influence, the fact that the initiative has the support of the NUJ is a welcome exercise of responsibility on their part.…

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What price privacy when cctv is about?

| 3 Comments
| Digital Rights, Irish Law, Irish Society, Media and Communications, Privacy

venicebanner.jpg

Dearbhail McDonald (Legal Affairs Correspondent of the Irish Independent) has brought my attention to a press release issued yesterday by the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (the ‘Venice Commission‘, an organ of the Council of Europe) about its recent Opinion on Video Surveillance in Public Places by Public Authorities and the Protection of Human Rights. …

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