Most of you will have noticed various petitions springing up about the well-intentioned but badly rushed plans to implement the Leveson report recommendations. Obviously anything decided and written at 2am is going to have flaws, as anyone who has worked that late knows, and the major flaw is that it does not exclude most of the Internet from this.
Questions immediately asked included very sensible ones about who would be responsible for the comments in a blog if covered by the new laws since, as everyone knows, the bottom half of the Internet can be a very dangerous place.
Although I broadly welcome what has been proposed with respect to the print media, I acknowledge there is much room for improvement.
Open Rights Group emailed me today asking people to email Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Harriet Harman, with your own MP copied in, to make sure your voice is heard on their debate. Specifically, to ask for the Internet to be left out of the Leveson plans, or add to New Schedule 5 of the Crime and Courts Bill to exclude: “A publisher who does not exceed the definition of a small or medium-sized enterprise as defined in Section 382 and 465 Companies Act 2006.”"
You can join their campaign here. You can also sign up to receive regular email updates from Open Rights Group, who campaign for our rights in an increasingly digital world.
Their strapline for this is: "Don't clobber bloggers with Leveson.". I completely agree.
Slactivism of the Day is a new feature in which I will pick out whichever I think is the most important plea for campaign help in my inbox each day. If for any reason I don't get any, I will subject you to my choice of LibDemmery.
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