Media and Communications – Page 6

Three free speech stories in the BBC News and Guardian websites caught my eye this morning. Indeed, the first two were almost side by side on both sites. In the first, there is widespread dismay at the arrest of a British school teacher in the Sudan accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad (BBC | Guardian). In the second, protests are expected later outside the Oxford Union (see also wikipedia) when Nick Griffin (see also wikipedia), Chairman of the British National Party, and David Irving (see also BBC | Holocaust History | Kizkor | wikipedia), Holocaust denier, arrive for a forum on The Limits of Free Speech (BBC | Guardian).

There is an inconsistency here; and the incongruous but serendipitous placement of these two stories side by side demonstrates it: we cannot be outraged both at the arrest of the teacher and at the speech of Nick Griffin and David Irving. Society cannot have it both ways, it is not free to pick and choose which speech to support. Those in favour of speech must afford it both to the teacher and to Griffin and Irving.…

Association of European Journalists in Dublin

12 November, 200725 March, 2009

| 2 Comments

| Defamation, Media and Communications, Privacy

The Association of European Journalists held their 45th Annual Congress in Dublin Castle over the weekend. On Saturday, 10 November 2007, the morning session considered the theme:

50 years later: The EU in a shrinking world

And they, lucky people, heard a speech by An Taoiseach (blogged here; reported here, here and here (Irish Times sub req’d)) in which he said that a referendum on the Lisbon Reform Treaty is likely be held in the first half of 2008. (He had previously addressed the Irish Branch of the AEJ in 2005 (reported here), as have several of his Ministers since: Minister of State Treacy in 2007, and Minister Ryan in 2007 – also here).

Of greater interest, the afternoon session considered the theme

Freedom of the Media

The special guest was Miklos Haraszti, Representative for Freedom of the Media in the OSCE. According to an article by Marie O’Halloran in today’s Irish Times (sub req’d), he urged that Ireland should “show the rest of the world and create a wonderful example” by becoming the first western EU state to drop legislation that allows for the jailing of journalists for defamation. He said that said section 34 of the Defamation Bil, 2006 was “very progressive” and abolished common law offences of criminal, seditious and obscene libel, but section 35 allowed for a sentence of up to five years for the publication of “gravely harmful statements”.…

Number unavailable – is locking phones lawful or anticompetitive?

3 November, 200723 June, 2011

| 4 Comments

| Competition Law, Media and Communications

Have you bought a locked mobile/cellular telephone? Are you thinking about doing do? If so, then you will be interested in an article in the New York Times during the week, entitled Locked vs. Unlocked: Opening Up Choice (also here). One element of it caught my eye in particular:

In the United States … some carriers â€” and in the case of the iPhone, a phone maker â€” say that unlocking the phone may violate the company warranty and thus the company will not repair or replace it if something goes awry. Some imply that it is not legal to unlock a phone, but the legal issues are murky at best. A subsection [ie, section 1201] of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 could be interpreted as saying that anyone who unlocks a phone for someone else or tells others how to do it might face legal action.

Some legal scholars, like Susan Crawford, a visiting professor at the University of Michigan Law School and an authority on digital copyright law, have argued that interpreting the act that way has little to do with protecting copyrights, and more to do with limiting competition. The Librarian of Congress, the office that determines what things are covered under the copyright act, exempts the unlocking of mobile phones from the law.

…

Just when are wardriving and piggybacking illegal?

29 October, 200731 July, 2018

| 7 Comments

| Media and Communications

I have mused on previous occasions on this blog (here and here) as to whether it really is the case that piggybacking on someone else’s open wi-fi connection is a criminal offence. I’m still not sure. Two months ago, the BBC reported Man arrested over wi-fi ‘theft’ and The Register reported Broadbandit nabbed in Wi-Fi bust.

The BBC report began: “A man has been arrested in connection with using a wi-fi broadband connection without permission”; whilst the Register‘s report began “A laptop user was collared by police community support officers in west London yesterday for allegedly pilfering someone else’s Wi-Fi”.…

Fox might report, but they won’t let us decide

27 October, 200719 November, 2010

| No Comments

| advertising, Copyright, Fair use, Media and Communications

Over on Lex Ferenda, DaithÃ has highlighted that, in the US, Fox News has written to US Republican Presidential candidate John McCain asking him to stop using a clip of his own words from a debate in a political advertisement. In fact, not content with taking on one presidential candidate, DaithÃ points out that they have decided to take on all of them, writing to them all in similar terms.

Fox are playing a dangerous game here (well, dangerous for them, at any rate). There is a very strong argument that First Amendment political speech concerns make this advertisment a non-commercial fair use (don’t just take my word for it; Michael Geist thought so too during a similar Canadian flap last January). And an express Federal Circuit Court holding to that effect would certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons for those broadcasters like Fox who continue to insist on restricting copyright in political debates which they host / broadcast. In fact, Fox seem to be the main holdout against Lessig‘s petition to the US political parties and broadcast networks to license Presidential debates freely after they are initially broadcast – either by putting the debates into the public domain, or by permitting anyone to use or remix the contents of those debates, for any reason whatsoever, so long as there is attribution back to any purported copyright holder.…

Tuesday’s child; Wednesday’s child

27 October, 200727 October, 2007

| 1 Comment

| Copyright, Media and Communications

Two stories from the BBC news website this week caught my eye, and I think they make an interesting pair put side by side.

First, on Tuesday: Huge pirate music site shut down

British and Dutch police have shut down a “widely-used” source of illegally-downloaded music. A flat on Teesside and several properties in Amsterdam were raided as part of an Interpol investigation into the members-only website OiNK. The UK-run site has leaked 60 major pre-release albums this year alone, said the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). A 24-year-old man from Middlesbrough was arrested on Tuesday morning. …

Then, on Wednesday: Anti file-sharing laws considered

The UK government could legislate to crack down on illegal file-sharers, a senior politician has told the BBC’s iPM programme [and here’s iPM’s blog post on the story]. Lord Triesman, the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Universities and Skills [with special responsibility for Intellectual Property and Quality], said intellectual property theft would not be tolerated.

“If we can’t get voluntary arrangements we will legislate,” he said.

The comments could prove controversial with privacy advocates and internet service providers. Lord Triesman called on internet service providers to take a “more activist role” in the problem of illegal file-sharing.

…

Deep Fried Oreos

17 October, 2007

| No Comments

| Media and Communications

A story that caught my eye in the New York Times a little while ago. During this year’s Great Indiana State Fair, punters could still purchase seep-fried oreos, …

… but not in trans fats!

Only in the land of the free and the home of the brave. The New York Times article (sub req’d) provided:

Yes, Deep-Fried Oreos, but Not in Trans Fats

The deep-fried Combo Plate may be a little more healthful this year at the Great Indiana State Fair. So say the fairâ€™s leaders, who, taking a step rarely seen in the realm of corn dogs and fried pickles, have banned oils with trans fats from all the fryers that line the grounds here. …

This is a slice of heaven,â€? said Ryan Howell, 31, as he cradled his Combo Plate, which, for the record, consists of one battered Snickers bar, two battered Oreos and a battered Reeseâ€™s Peanut Butter Cup â€” all deep-fried in oil that is trans-fat free, thank goodness. …

Jeremy Orme, who runs Fried Creations, the home of the Combo Plate, introduced a new item at this yearâ€™s fair: deep-fried Pepsi. He rolls out his Pepsi-based dough, dips it in a batter made with Pepsi and deep-fries it for 90 seconds.

…

To do a great right

10 October, 200712 July, 2016

| 2 Comments

| Blasphemy, Cinema, television and theatre, Freedom of Expression, Media and Communications

And I beseech you,
Wrest once the law to your authority:
To do a great right, do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will.

The Merchant of Venice: Act 4, Scene I

I think it is rather as though Jack Straw has been seduced by Bassanio’s arguments. For, to do a great right by the gay community, he has this week chosen to do what he must regard as no more than a little wrong to the right to freedom of expression.

The UK already has legislation on incitement to racial hatred (as does Ireland, also here), it has recently extended that legislation to cover incitement to religious hatred, and just this week Straw announced the UK government’s intention to extend it further to cover incitement to hatred based on sexual orientation. …

cearta.ie

Category: Media and Communications

Give speech a chance

Association of European Journalists in Dublin

Number unavailable – is locking phones lawful or anticompetitive?

Just when are wardriving and piggybacking illegal?

Fox might report, but they won’t let us decide

Tuesday’s child; Wednesday’s child

Deep Fried Oreos

To do a great right