Free Speech Denied By Supreme Court

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The supreme court has upheld a High Court ruling that the Communications Act 2003, which forbids “political” television advertisements, does not beach the human rights of British citizens.
The “law lords” agreed unanimously that there should be a “level playing field” for competing opinions. It believed allowing the buying of TV time would give unfair prominence to the beliefs advertised. There was a danger that citizens would be “conditioned” to accept opinions that were constantly
repeated on TV.
The ban on political advertisements does not include the major political parties, which are given free TV time prior to elections. Print and Internet adverts are also free of state control.
This decision on an appeal by Animal Defenders International received little news media attention. The Financial Times gave it four column inches. This is not unusual in a country in which the people often accept that the interests of the state should take precedence over their rights. In such an atmosphere the patronising belief of the senior judges that it is the job of the state to protect its citizens from bamboozlement by suppressing free speech provokes little response.


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