UK / Europe & Central Asia

  

Rushed data legislation would give UK worrying surveillance powers

The British government’s attempt to rush through a bill on data retention before the House of Commons summer recess next week has run into opposition–not from members across the aisle but from Internet companies, civil liberty defenders, and lawyers, who say the law would extend the authorities’ already vast snooping capabilities.

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G-7 acknowledges post-2015 agenda should include governance, human rights

New York, June 5, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the declaration today by leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations that democratic governance and human rights should be integral to the post-2015 development agenda.  The United Nations is seeking agreement on a broad set of sustainable development objectives to replace the Millennium…

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EU underscores support of free expression, but slights access to information

A new document on freedom of expression and opinion, adopted May 12 by the 28 foreign ministers of the European Union, presses nearly all the right buttons. Drawing its inspiration from international human rights norms as well as from the EU’s treaties and its charter of fundamental rights, the document reaffirms the role of freedom…

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Nils Horner (AFP)

British-Swedish journalist shot dead in Afghan capital

New York, March 11, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s fatal shooting of an international journalist in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and calls on authorities to ensure the perpetrators are held responsible. The shooting comes amid mounting risks for foreigners in Kabul.  Two unidentified men approached Nils Horner, 51, in Kabul’s diplomatic district this morning,…

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Miranda ruling could set bad precedent for press freedom

New York, February 19, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by today’s ruling by the U.K. High Court that said David Miranda was lawfully detained under antiterrorism legislation at Heathrow airport last summer.

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Cameron must consider UK press freedom’s global example

Each year, members of the Global Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations gather to discuss threats to journalists around the world and plan action. Usually, we focus on frontline countries where journalists face life and death issues. But as our annual meeting took place in London this year, we couldn’t help but notice the emerging…

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Putting Press Freedom at the Heart of Anti-Poverty Efforts

Economists and political scientists acknowledge that journalism is vital to development and democracy. By Robert Mahoney

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Would-Be Repressors Brandish ‘Ethics’ as Justification

Calls for journalists to exercise a sense of responsibility are very often code for censorship. Yet unethical journalism can also imperil the press. By Jean-Paul Marthoz

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CPJ Risk List

Surveillance, restrictive Internet legislation, and cyberattacks compel CPJ to add cyberspace to the list of places trending in the wrong direction. By Maya Taal

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Attacks on the Press in 2013: United Kingdom

The United Kingdom’s tradition of an unfettered news media was marred by several developments in 2013. Parliamentary debate over recommendations from the 2012 Leveson Inquiry to address unethical behavior by media concluded with the creation of a royal charter that critics feared would enable political interference in press regulation and set a bad example for…

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