‘Small-scale blogs’ to be granted exemption from new press laws
Britain’s small bloggers have won exemption from onerous new press rules after government ministers conceded that the royal charter plan drawn up last week was flawed.
In response they will be exempt from exemplary damages imposed on publishers who refuse to sign up to an ‘approved regulator’ under a new amendment.
The move comes amidst widespread unrest on the internet over the plans by broadening the amendment in scope to encompass ‘a person who publishes a small-scale blog’.
However a refusal to clarify precisely what is meant by the term ‘small-scale blog’ has not resolved any confusion as to who will or won’t be ensnared by the new regulations.
The backtracking comes as two previously supportive newspaper editors voiced concerns about the new plans with both Alan Rusbridger of the guardian and Chris Blackhurst of The Independent suggesting that the industry should be given more time to set up their own successor to the Press Complaints Commission.
Rusbridger wrote: “Allow the system to bed in for a year or so and for a dialogue between regulator and recogniser about what works and what needs tweaking. Then, and only then, think about wrapping it all up in a Royal Charter.”