We will repeal ruinous law that threatens Press freedom, says minister
- Michelle Donelan says controversial Section 40 law will be repealed
- It has sat on the Statute Book for years but had never been brought into effect
- The Culture Secretary added the Government also ‘reshaped’ Online Safety Bill
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The new Culture Secretary has pledged to repeal a controversial law that could make newspapers pay legal costs for both sides in libel and privacy cases – regardless of who wins.
Michelle Donelan said Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which has sat on the Statute Book for years but had never been brought into effect, threatened ‘media freedom’ and risked ‘financial ruin’ for publishers.
Section 40 means news publishers would have to pay the costs of any court judgment if they are not a member of an ‘approved regulator’, whatever the outcome of the case.
No national newspapers have signed up to the officially recognised press regulator Impress amid concerns about threats to Press freedom.
Michelle Donelan said Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which has sat on the Statute Book for years but had never been brought into effect, threatened ‘media freedom’ and risked ‘financial ruin’ for publishers
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In a piece written to coincide with the annual Journalism Matters campaign, Miss Donelan wrote: ‘We are going to repeal Section 40, which would threaten media freedom and risk financial ruin for publishers.’
She also said while online readership of local newspapers was growing, it was ‘clear’ that big tech companies, which include the likes of Google, had ‘swallowed up much of the ad market’ and had ‘contributed to the closure of too many newsrooms’.
The Culture Secretary added the Government has ‘reshaped’ its Online Safety Bill to ‘safeguard free speech’ and ‘ensure Silicon Valley monoliths cannot censor quality journalism on a whim’.
She also said while online readership of local newspapers was growing, it was ‘clear’ that big tech companies, which include the likes of Google, had ‘swallowed up much of the ad market’ and had ‘contributed to the closure of too many newsrooms’
She said ministers were ‘stepping in to stop the biggest tech players from using their market dominance to mistreat other businesses and consumers’. Miss Donelan, who replaced Nadine Dorries as Culture Secretary in September, said the new regulator, the Digital Markets Unit, which currently only operates in a shadow form, would ‘level the playing field between news publishers and big tech’.
She said this would particularly apply to publishers getting paid ‘fairly’ for the articles they produce. Miss Donelan added: ‘After all, good journalism does not come for free.’
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