Following a widely report scandal on phone hacking, UK Prime Minister David Cameron ordered a public inquiry into improving the culture, practices, and ethics of the British press. The inquiry concluded last week with a long-awaited report from Judge Brian Leveson, who recommended the creation of “an independent self-regulatory regime” underpinned by the law to help police the industry. Acting independent of Parliament, the regulator would need to have the power to impose a range of sanctions, including fines, demands for apologies, and reporting corrections. If industry did not create its own effective entity, Leveson called for Parliament to pass legislation to give necessary legal powers to a self-regulatory body and establish standards.
Among other recommendations in report:
- A committee composed of newspaper editors and independent members must establish a Standards Code for ethical journalism;
- The proposed regulatory body would have an arbitration system in place allowing victims to seek redress without the expense of costly litigation;
- The proposed regulator would replace the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), a voluntary regulatory body with no legal powers. Newspapers may choose to be regulated by the Office of Communications, which currently regulates British broadcasting, the most trusted form of news in Britain.
For more, see RegBlog analysis.
No comments:
Post a Comment