Skip to content
  • Common Currency
  • Campaigns
    • PENWrites
    • Writers at Risk
    • Writers in Residence
    • Free speech in the UK
  • News
  • Events
  • Translation
    • PEN Translates
    • PEN Transmissions
    • International Translation Day
    • The World Bookshelf
      • Books
      • Authors
      • Translators
    • PEN Presents
      • Issues
      • Books
      • Apply to PEN Presents
  • Prizes
    • PEN Pinter Prize
    • PEN Ackerley Prize
    • PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize
  • Donate
  • Join
Home > Campaigns > Lords Committee agrees with English PEN concern over ‚Äòambiguous’ press regulation law

Lords Committee agrees with English PEN concern over ‚Äòambiguous’ press regulation law

Today, the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications published Press Regulation: where are we now?, a report into the system of press regulation currently operating, following the publication of the Leveson Report.

During the evidence gathering phase of the Committee’s investigation, English PEN submitted a copy of its report Who Joins The Regulator? A report on the impact of the Crime and Courts Act on publishers.¬† Our report argues that:

  • Publishers expected to be exempt from regulation appear to fall into the category of ‚Äòrelevant publisher‚Äô, including campaigning organisations, political parties and think tanks
  • Terms in the legislation are poorly defined, leading to uncertainty for publishers and the risk of a chill on free speech
  • Lack of clarity in the legislation will result in anomalies within categories of publication expected to be excluded from regulation, including blogs and specialist publications
  • English PEN‚Äôs analysis of a range of publications, according to the terms in the legislation, reveals widespread inconsistency across the media landscape regarding which publications are exempt and which qualify for regulation

In a section on ‘Key issues requiring clarification‘ the Select Committee cited English PEN’s findings and agreed that the term ‘relevant publisher’ in the legislation was ‘ambiguous’.

English PEN repeats its call for a review of the legislation governing press regulation.¬† In addition to clarification of the term ‘relevant publisher’, we are concerned by the measures in the Crime & Courts Act which allow a court to award punitive costs against a publisher who is not a member of a regulator.¬† This appears to be a coercive measure that would in effect force publishers to join a regulator.

Read the House of Lords Select Committee report

Join our mailing list

Sign up to receive the latest English PEN news and events.

SIGN UP
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Partners
  • Outreach
  • Jobs
  • Contact us

With thanks to our Core Funders

©1921 - 2023

English PEN is a company limited by guarantee number 5747142 (England & Wales) and a registered charity, number 1125610.

We use cookies to help us improve your experience on our website. By closing this notification or interacting with the website you agree to our use of cookies. ACCEPT Find out more
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT