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Review of Regulatory Gaps and the New Media

Call for Submissions - Submissions close 12 March 2012
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Referred ByMinister
Area of LawOther
Date Opened19 October 2010

Contact Details

Professor John Burrows
newmedia@lawcom.govt.nz
04 914 4813

Hon Simon Power, the Minister Responsible for the Law Commission, has asked the Commission to undertake a review of the current regulatory regime for news media with respect to its adequacy in catering for new and emerging forms of news media – sometimes referred to as the “new media”.

The Minister has requested that the Commission’s review should deal explicitly with the following matters:

-How to define “news media” for the purposes of the law;

-Whether and to what extent the jurisdiction of the Broadcasting Standards Authority and/ or the Press Council should be extended to cover currently unregulated news media and, if so, what legislative changes would be required to achieve this end; and

-Whether then existing criminal and civil remedies for wrongs such as defamation, harassment, breach of confidence and privacy are effective in the new media environment and if not whether alternative remedies may be available.

The Commissioner leading the project will be Professor John Burrows who has an extensive background in media law. He will be assisted by senior researcher and policy adviser, and former editor, Cate Honore Brett.

The Commission released an issues paper for public consultation on the 12th December 2011

More information and paper download

 

References to the review in the media

 

Simpson Grierson 'Bloggers, Tweeters and Facebook - New Media or News Media' 22 January 2012

NZ Herald 'Linda Clark: Watchdogs must keep up with media's changing face' 20 January 2012

Dominion Post 'Editorial: Slings and arrows of a single regulator'  19 January 2012

Stuff 'Trouble in cyberspace' [Review of Regulatory Gaps and the New Media] 12 January 2012

NZ Listener 'Taming the Media' 3 January 2012

TVNZ Media 7 'Russell Brown talks to Law Commissioner, Professor John Burrows about the future media landscape' 15 December 2011

Otago Daily Times 'Cyber-bullying here to stay: expert'  15 December 2011

SCOOP 'Invitation to an Online Media Shooting' 13 December 2011

Media Law Journal 'Law Commission's media paper'  12 December 2011

Frog Blog 'New report on new media' 12 December 2011

TVNZ 'Newspapers could rally against new media rules' 12 December 2011

TV3 'Law Commission proposes a new media watchdog'  12 December 2011

Stuff 'Light, not heat, needed for new media plan'  12 December 2011

Timaru Herald via Stuff 'Editorial: Social media minefield'  12 December 2011

TV3 'Key accepts law changes for online media'  12 December 2011

Public Address 'News media meets New Media: Privileges and accountabilities'  12 December 2011

Kiwiblog 'News media meets New Media'  12 December 2011

Stuff 'Tough laws for the cyber age requested'  12 December 2011

NZ Herald  'New media rules under proposals'   12 December 2011

NZ Newswire via Yahoo news 'New media tribunal, regulator floated'  12 December 2011

NZ Herald 'Twitter spoofs under spotlight'  7 December 2011

Stuff 'Report on taming 'wild west' bloggers awaited'  5 December 2011

TV3 'Online media laws could be changed' 1 December 2011

Dominion Post via Stuff 'Editorial: Keep media free of govt control' 17 October 2011

  • Review of Regulatory Gaps and the New Media

    Published 20 Oct 2010

    How to define news media for the purposes of the law.Whether and to what extent the jurisdiction of the Broadcasting Standards Authority and/ or the Press Council should be extended to cover currently unregulated news media and, if so, what legislative changes would be required to achieve this end. Whether then existing criminal and civil remedies for wrongs such as defamation, harassment, breach of confidence and privacy are effective in the new media environment and if not whether alternative remedies may be available.

  • The News Media meets 'New Media': Rights, Responsibilities and Regulation in the Digital Age

    Obtain a Hard Copy

    Available online only.
    Published 12 Dec 2011
    The News Media meets 'New Media': Rights, Responsibilities and Regulation in the Digital Age image thumbnail

    View online version or download below

    Watch Video - Commissioner John Burrows discusses key aspects of the review with Senior Researcher and Policy Advisor, Cate Brett

    The Law Commission is seeking New Zealander’s views on the standards and accountabilities which should apply to the news media and citizen publishers in the digital age. The Commission’s latest Issues Paper, The news media meets ‘new media’: rights, responsibilities and regulation in the digital age contains a number of preliminary proposals for amendments to speech laws and changes to the regulatory systems for news media.

    The paper is divided into two parts: Part 1 deals with the first two legs of the Commission’s terms of reference which focus on the news media and how news media should be defined for legal purposes, and how they might be regulated in the era of convergence. Chapter 4 of the paper sets out the principles  underpinning the Commission’s preliminary proposals with respect to the news media. Chapter 6 details preliminary proposal for a new independent news media regulator.

    Part 2 of the paper deals with the larger legal framework which governs all speech / communication , irrespective of the medium or who is communicating. It looks at the type of problems which are emerging within the web environment, including issues like cyber-bullying, harassment and defamation in social media, and asks whether the law can be better adapted to this new publishing environment and whether the courts are the best forum for resolving these sorts of disputes between free speech and rights to privacy, reputation etc. Chapters 7 and 8 are the relevant chapters.

    It is important to stress that this is a preliminary paper designed to garner wide public debate and feedback on the scope of the problem and best solutions. We welcome submissions and comments on the questions and proposals contained in the paper. These can be made online or by mail up until March 12 2012. The Commission will also be hosting online forums on the paper in February 2012.

    The paper  will be followed by a Final Report and recommendations to government in late 2012.

    application/pdf iconSummary document IP 27 - 'The News Media meets 'New Media': Rights, Responsibilities and Regulation in the Digital Age'
    application/pdf iconFull document IP 27 - 'The News Media meets 'New Media': Rights, Responsibilities and Regulation in the Digital Age'

Press Releases

  • The News Media meets 'New Media': Rights, Responsibilities and Regulation in the Digital Age

    Published 12 Dec 2011

    The Law Commission is seeking New Zealanders’ views on the role of the news media in society and the standards to which they should be held to account.

    In its latest Issues Paper, The News Media Meets ‘New Media’: rights, responsibilities and regulation in the digital age, the Law Commission puts forward a number of preliminary proposals for reforming the regulatory environment in which the news media operate.

    It also asks whether the legal rights and responsibilities which have traditionally applied to news media should be extended to some new media publishers, such as current affairs bloggers and web-only news sites.

    Watch Video - Commissioner John Burrows discusses key aspects of the review with Senior Researcher and Policy Advisor, Cate Brett

    application/pdf iconIP 27 -Press Release: 'The News Media meets 'New Media': Rights, Responsibilities and Regulation in the Digital Age

Submission form

Published 10 Jan 2012

This form can be used to make a submission on the current Review. If you have already prepared your submission you can fill out your name, email address and region then upload your file or you can type a brief submission into this form at the bottom of the page.

The Law Commission's processes are essentially public, and it is subject to the Official Information Act 1982. Thus copies of submissions made to the Commission will normally be made available on request and as submissions provide important evidence to each project it is common for the Commission to draw upon the contents of submissions and quote from them in its reports. Any request for withholding of information on the grounds of confidentiality or for any other reason will be determined in accordance with the Official Information Act. If you have a question or comment relating to this project please email an enquiry.

Please fill in the name and number of the paper you are submitting on. Eg. NZLC IP19 Review of Trust Law in New Zealand: An Introductory Issues Paper

A full name is preferable. Anonymous submissions also accepted. 
 

Organisation Name:

Position Title:

A copy of your submission will be sent to this address.
 

It is useful for the Commission to know what projects are of interest in which areas of New Zealand.
 

Upload your submission (up to 3 documents):

Use the "Browse" button to locate the file on your computer, then select the “Open” button to load your file. You can repeat this process to upload additional files.

OR

Compose a brief submission:

If you wish to make a brief submission only, you can type your submission into this box. The box will accept up to 500 words.

You can also email your submission directly to newmedia@lawcom.govt.nz
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