Briefing

As the Leveson Inquiry continues hearing evidence about how to improve press regulation, Richard Shillito looks at some of the key issues. In a paper prepared for a LexisNexis conference on Privacy Defamation and the Media held in London on 28 June 2012, he asks: what is the case for regulating the press rather than simply enforcing existing laws; and, with the decline of print media, what problems does the internet pose for would be regulators. He looks at the proposals tabled by Lord Hunt and Hugh Tomlinson QC for regulatory reform, in light of the indications Leveson LJ has given as to his own expectations, and he asks: are there sufficient incentives for the press to sign up to them; would they work in practice; and would they cure the deficiencies of the current system. His conclusion is that there is more work to be done.