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April 22, 2006
Sky News on Blogs
Just seen the Sky News discussion on blogs this morning. I was asked if I wanted to appear but somehow flying from Lisbon for 15 minutes of TV time just didn’t seem all that good an idea.
Having actually watched it I should have done. Which sensible middle aged man would refuse to share studio space with Adriana Cronin-Lukas?
Others were Bobbie Johnson of The Guardian and Ian Dale. Who, I note, is exactly the same age as me and would not be sharing quite the same feeling about being closeted with Ms. Lukas. Ahem.
One slightly more important and serious point (hey, the wonder of blogging! That one can correct what you’ve just seen on the TV!).
Referring to the Fake Sheik photos and Guido. Yes, he was able to ignore the injunction to take the photo down because his blog is hosted offshore. That is, the injunction needed to be made in the jurisdiction that his host was in, which isn’t the one that actually issued the injunction.
However, contrary to the assertion made by Ian, this does not appply to libel (note that the injunction about the photo was over copyright, nothing else). Libel law for bloggers works exactly the other way around. It doesn’t matter where you are hosted, nor even which jurisdiction you are in yourself. What matters is where the reader is.
Someone downloads and reads your piece in England and Wales? You are subject to the libel laws in that jurisdiction. This has been tested at least once, Dow Jones losing on appeal in a case involving a wire story uploaded in the US for a predominantly US audience, being sued in Australia by the subject of that story, himself resident in Australia.
The full story is here.
I was surprised Bobbie Johnson didn’t comment at that point: The Guardian has famously taken down a report on an Australian court case, hosted on their servers in the UK, as it might have breached contempt of court provisions in Australia.
My other surprise? I had thought that with that spelling of the name Bobbie was female. Err, no.
April 22, 2006 in Weblogs | Permalink
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» The eyes have it from Samizdata.net
This morning I was on SkyNews on the Saturday live programme debating blogging. It was one of those discussions the media in the UK has started to have, as in... these bloggers are not going away, so let's make them sound a bit ridiculous and question ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 22, 2006 10:20:06 PM
» The eyes have it from Samizdata.net
This morning I was on SkyNews on the Saturday live programme debating blogging. It was one of those discussions the media in the UK has started to have, as in... these bloggers are not going away, so let's make them sound a bit ridiculous and question ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 22, 2006 10:22:26 PM
Comments
Wow nice to see they actually strive to get the cutting edge of bloggers. When was the last time Adriana blog for Samizdata then? And Iain Dale? Oh come on they could have done better than that lot. Encouraging to see you were asked Tim.
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge | Apr 22, 2006 12:26:00 PM
Libel and Copyright are not the only legalities which bloggers have to worry about these days, as of last week:
The newly commenced Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2006 also claims worldwide UK jurisdiction for internet "takedown notices".
You or your ISP or webhost have 2 working days to comply (excluding weekends and bank holidays), otherwise you are may be deemed to be endorsing the "encouragement" or "glorification" of terrorism, or the "dissemination of a terrorist publication" and so you could be liable for up to 7 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
Just the smell of one of these Section 3 notices will be enough for most ISPs or Webhosts to drop you as a customer immediately, even if it is a malicious fake notice.
Of course, under the insanely vague and catch-all Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, just "preparing" for any "terrorist act", which now includes preparing to publish or re-publish something online (but not actually going through with it), which "in the opinion" of any "constable" merits a Section 3 takedown notice, could lead to the penalty of imprisonment for life
It does not matter if the UK Government never actually prosecutes anyone under this law, there is still a chilling effect on internet free speech.
What was it you called Home Secretary Charles Clarke ? 8-(
Posted by: Watching Them, Watching Us | Apr 22, 2006 2:00:07 PM
Owww, Andrew.. how unkind. Fortunately, Tim's gallant words soothe the pain. :-)
Running the Big Blog Company takes pretty much most of my time these days but I do manage to blog on my personal blog Media Influencer. And once I drag a few more businesses kicking and screaming into the blogosphere, I will be able to pontificate about politics again...
Tim adds: Gallant is one way of putting it.
In the interests of full disclosure I should point out that Ms. Lukas did in fact reject me for a job. Because I do not live in London. You see, these centralised media types, they’re all the same :-)
Posted by: Adriana | Apr 22, 2006 8:47:59 PM
Hey, to prove that the vast peer-review that is called the blogosphere functions just fine, I have to correct Tim's interpretation of events! :-)
I recall the exchange as being:
Tim: Alas I'm not London based.... Otherwise I'd be applying.
Adriana: Damn. Otherwise I'd be taking you on.
Heh.
Tim adds: Werl, yeah, but yeah, but no but yeah. If I’d known then what I know now I would have offered to relocate.
Wife and others be damned.
Ahem.
Posted by: Adriana | Apr 22, 2006 9:59:25 PM
Others? Interesting.
Ahem. :)
Tim adds: Aye, the dogs, the cat, grandchildren...nothing to do with your significant others, of course.
BTW, you going to be at the ASI thing?
Posted by: Adriana | Apr 22, 2006 10:58:44 PM
I think the multi-jurisdictional issues presented by someone trying to suppress me in the British courts would be interesting.
I'll say no more.
Posted by: Guido Fawkes | Apr 22, 2006 11:03:37 PM
Planning to show up briefly at the ASI do, alas, double-booked. But will make it there, if only to say hello.
Hm, looking at the comments, I looks like I am talking to m'self all the time... I blame the media!
Posted by: Adriana | Apr 23, 2006 12:40:35 AM
In the interests of full disclosure I should point out that Ms. Lukas did in fact reject me.
Ah, never mind Tim. I'm sure you weren't the first. :)
That's for your constant bashing of the Welsh, by the way.
Posted by: Tim Newman | Apr 23, 2006 7:07:54 AM
I was going to mention the spread of libel laws and the Australian case but when you're restricted to tiny soundbites it's always a little difficult. Saturday morning's too early for me to be functioning on all cylinders.
And don't worry about the name thing, I am most definitely the exception rather than the rule - there's always a slight intake of breath from people I speak to on the phone who have assumed I was a woman. It can be quite fun.
Posted by: bobbie | Apr 23, 2006 11:41:50 AM
I realise that you are hard at work with bBC Adriana; that was part of my point.
I am however sick & tired of the same people getting asked to go on TV & radio as bloggers. There are lots of bloggers in the UK with a decent hit rate that never get a look in.
I get asked frequently by my mates in the press for bloggers to chat to and I try to spread the wealth a bit.
Anyway see you at the ASI thing.
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge | Apr 23, 2006 1:23:05 PM
AID - You grumpy bugger.
First off, I don't think anyone was invited on this show simply because they are a blogger, but because they can talk cogently about the wider implications. The discussion was about the crossover of media and blogging.
Second, I know several other people who were considered for this particular slot but didn't/couldn't. You'd might call them the usual suspects too, but I honestly can't think of many people better suited.
Thirdly, give me some good examples of people you think would be worth asking and next time I'm asked to recommend some guests (as I was this time) I could put their names forward. But remember, it's not just about hit rates.
Posted by: bobbie | Apr 23, 2006 9:05:26 PM
