Category Archives: social media

New event: Digital Media Europe 2013 Hack Day – 13 April 2013

Posted on March 12, 2013 by jtownend

This announcement comes via the excellent Scraperwiki  (a start-up I worked with on a series of events in 2010/11). They have teamed up with WAN-IFRA to put on a hack day at Bloomberg on 13 April 2013. In April, global … Continue reading →

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BBC College of Journalism: Social media and the law – a case to regulate or educate?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by jtownend

The BBC College of Journalism has published a selection of views on the CPS Public consultation on its Interim Guidelines on prosecuting cases involving communications sent via social media, which closes on 13 March 2013. My contribution is below and … Continue reading →

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Media PLE: Educating the public about the legal risks of social media use

Posted on December 19, 2012 by jtownend

This morning’s Radio 4 Today programme raised the issue of social media users’ “ignorance” around legal issues, with the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer, who has today issued Interim guidelines on “prosecuting cases involving communications sent via social media”. … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, contempt of court, criminal law, defamation, media law, privacy, Public Legal Education, social media | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Beyond Leveson: Legal protection for online and ‘citizen’ media

Posted on November 7, 2012 by jtownend

I’ve previously written about Leveson’s online elephant (as had Index on Censorship’s Marta Cooper before me). As the debate intensifies over the shape of ‘press’ regulation (the key question is whether or not a new regulator should be underpinned by … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, defamation, freedom of expression, human rights, media law, media law resources, media regulation, press freedom, social media | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Judicial Office responds to FoI request on blogging guidance for judges

Posted on August 30, 2012 by jtownend

Earlier this month, I reported that the Senior Presiding Judge and the Senior President of Tribunals has issued new guidance [PDF] to all courts and tribunal judicial office holders in England and Wales. While it does not entirely prohibit blogging … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, courts, digital open justice, media law, social media, social networking | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Law and Media Mid-Summer Round Up – 29 August 2012

Posted on August 29, 2012 by jtownend

Inforrm's Blog Parliamentarians are still in recess, Lord Justice Leveson has finished taking evidence for Part 1 of his Inquiry, the Michaelmas legal term has not yet begun, but there have been more than enough media law related developments to … Continue reading →

Posted in data protection, defamation, leveson inquiry, media ethics, media law, media law mop-up, media law resources, media regulation, press freedom, privacy, public interest, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Should judges blog? A little more detail on the new guidance

Posted on August 17, 2012 by jtownend

The Senior Presiding Judge and the Senior President of Tribunals has issued new guidance [PDF] to all courts and tribunal judicial office holders in England and Wales. While it does not entirely prohibit blogging and social media use, it states: … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, courts, digital open justice, freedom of expression, human rights, media law, public interest, social media | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

An elephant in courtroom 73? Social media, regulation and the law

Posted on August 10, 2012 by jtownend

Lord Justice Leveson’s enormous task is to examine the culture, practices and ethics of the media, with a special emphasis on the “press”. This is because it was serious concerns about the behaviour of UK national newspapers that instigated the … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, comment, contempt of court, courts, data protection, defamation, freedom of expression, human rights, journalism, leveson inquiry, media ethics, media law, media regulation, social media, social networking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

MediaAct: a new platform and network for media accountability?

Posted on July 30, 2012 by jtownend

On Friday and Saturday (27-28 July) I joined a group of European media bloggers in Bristol for a seminar organised by MediaWise, the EU MediaAct project at UWE and the NUJ New Media Industrial Council. MediaAcT is a European research … Continue reading →

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