UK: NS Campaigns For Press Rights

The Newspaper Society (NS) is lobbying against two proposed pieces of legislation. “Both could introduce stringent privacy legislation which would effectively halt investigative reporting and gag the media unless urgent action is taken to introduce press exemptions,” said the NS. The Human Rights Bill and the Data Protection Bill “will strike at the heart of Britain’s 1,400 regional and local newspapers,” added David Newell, the NS director. The Human Rights Bill incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. It includes the right to privacy as well as the right to freedom of expression. The Data Protection Bill implements the European Directive on Data Protection, which has wide-ranging implications for the collection, processing and commercial use of information about identifiable individuals.