About Me

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Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019) and AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021).

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Libel reform petition

Please consider signing here if you haven't already. British defamation law potentially affects us all, whether we live in the UK or not. If our words are published in the UK, as they will be if we express ourselves via the internet, we run the risk of being sued for libel in the British courts. Freedom of speech, internationally, requires reforms in a major jurisdiction that is far too heavily weighted in favour of plaintiffs.

Exactly what reforms are needed can be a matter of debate, but there should at least be strong defences available when the impugned speech relates to questions of public interest, and not merely to the private lives of public figures.

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