Download the full bill here.

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Summary

1.    Most national newspapers in the UK are unregulated.  They are under no obligation to maintain standards of accuracy or observe other ethical standards.  The prohibitive cost of litigation against the press means that most newspapers are also able to act illegally without fear of ever being held to account.  This has resulted in dozens of people suffering intrusions and other abuses in the press every year.  It has also contributed to excessively low levels of public trust in the press, with the UK now experiencing the lowest level of public trust in the press of all countries in the G7.

2.    There is a body which handles complaints against the press, called “IPSO”. But IPSO was set up and is controlled by newspaper executives.  It has never investigated or fined a newspaper, and upholds fewer than 1% of complaints.

3.    Newspapers and their websites reach45 million people every month, which is equivalent to 70% of the population.  Although “print” circulations are in decline, online readerships are rising and newspapers’ total readerships are higher today than ever before.  They are also prevalent sources of news on social media.

4.    The Leveson Inquiry recommended that all newspapers and their websites should be compelled to join an independent regulator, instead of IPSO.  Such a regulator would be able to investigate and expose phone hacking as well as protect the public from inaccuracies, intrusion and abuse.

5.    The Media Freedom and Accountability Bill would introduce enforceable “duties” for nationalnewspapers and their websites, by amending the Online Safety Act.  The duties require publishers to:

a.    Run a fair and speedy complaints system

b.    Protect the public from disinformation

c.    Protect the public from intrusion, except where justified in the public interest

d.    Protect the public from discrimination and hatred

6.    These duties, set out in Part 3 of the bill, would only apply to newspapers with a turnover of more than £10m, so the locally owned press would be unaffected. They would also not apply to any newspaper which chooses to join an independent regulator, as proposed by the Leveson Report.

7.    Furthermore, the First and Second Parts of the Bill would introduce new protections to press freedom and the legitimate activities of journalists in the public interest, without any cost to the public.  They would further open up court proceedings to journalistic scrutiny, create an expedited FOI regime for journalists, and establish a constitutional right to freedom of the media.  Finally, Part 4 will end political interference in broadcast media regulation, by removing the Secretary of State’s role in the OFCOM Chair Appointments process.

8.    Altogether, this is a Bill that would do more to advance the cause of media freedom than any other legislation over the last ten years, while finally giving the public the protections from media inaccuracies, intrusions and other abuses which they deserve and were repeatedly promised by leaders of all political parties.

9.    Full text of the bill is here, with Explanatory Notes.