Back in January, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, had announced the welcome news thatBritain’s libel laws were to be reviewed. They were regarded as some of the most draconian laws of their kind in the free world, and beyond. While falsely defaming people, by lowering them in the estimation of right-thinking people generally, is not something that can be supported, there is also a need to preserve freedom of speech in the public interest.
The issue has come to a head again with revelations about a series of super injunctions taken out to protect individual privacy. Where that is the purpose, and the public interest is not compromised, all well and good but I do have concerns that such legal measures could conceivably be used inappropriately. We have to trust in the judiciary to make sound decisions to get the balance right, although there is a widespread perception that parts of the civil law present for this purpose are really only usable by the rich and powerful. While these individuals may consider themselves more vulnerable than most, the reputations of ordinary people should count for something as well.
Recent events suggest that now is the time to review the availability and use of super injunctions. We need to have the highest level of confidence that laws are being used appropriately and that accessibility is not unreasonably confined to those people who are already privileged in many ways. This review also needs to look at the relationship between Parliament, where such laws should be made, and the judiciary which is responsible for interpretation, and must never be perceived to making up its own rules.
At the same time, how about embracing modernity? The increasing use of new technology, and especially social media, can make some of our laws and associated decisions look anachronistic, or just plain stupid. How can it be that a super injunction can prevent a daily newspaper publishing a story that might already be widespread on say Facebook, Twitter or You Tube?
The need for review is urgent. It is unlikely that the law can punish a potentially seven-figure number of social media users. That would be a money-spinning waste of resource for some people in some professions but the outcome could never be worth the effort. We need a legal framework that offers appropriate privacy protection, shouts about our commitment to freedom of speech and makes the whole package look rather less ridiculous than it does today.
Councillor Bob Lanzer, Leader of Crawley Borough Council
24th May 2011