The woman who started all this.
The Royal Charter explained in full.
This Bristol web designer is confident that none of this applies to blogs.
Free speech campaigner and writer Cory Doctorow disagrees.
As does pressure group Index on Censorship, although Culture Secretary Maria Miller says the new rules would protect "small scale bloggers".
Tim Worstall goes further and argues that the British Government has decided to censor the entire world's press and media.
What the oldest English language periodical thinks of the Royal Charter.
The Guardian: "Press regulation: a victory for the rich, the celebrated and the powerful”.
Nobody from the press was there when the grubby deal was struck, but four members of Hacked Off were.
"First they came..."
The Huffington Post on what most 'liberals' probably think.
Press regulation could finally stop people disagreeing with you.
Sign the petition to tell Hugh Grant, Max Mosley and Evan Harris to "Blog Off!"
Reaction from around the world:
New York Times: (The regulations) would “chill free speech and threaten the survival of small publishers and internet sites”.
Matt Storin, managing editor of the New York Daily News: “I believe I can speak for virtually all American journalists in saying the new British Press regulations are not only appalling but also, in an American context, unimaginable.”
Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russian government owned newspaper): “Censorship sir!”. “Rainy days for the freedom of the press.”
Yulia Latynina (Russian journalist): “We will probably see Andrey Lugovoy (suspect in the Alexander Litvinenko murder case) claiming millions in compensation over his coverage in UK newspapers — he will probably be the first client of your new regulator.”
Takura Zhangazha, Zimbabwean Voluntary Media Council: “Statutory regulation of the Press is inimical to freedom of expression because we have had statutory regulation here and it has led to the newspapers being shut down, journalists being arrested and a culture of impunity for the state against the media.”
Delo newspaper (Ukraine): “Great Britain is getting ready to launch censorship.”
Gulf Daily News (Bahrain): “Neither British politicians nor anyone else is going to solve [the problems] by creating some sort of bureaucratic watchdog that will regulate what journalists do. We already have in place the best regulatory force of any organisation on the planet. They are called the readers.”
Nic Dawes, editor-in-chief, Mail & Guardian (South Africa): “The UK is not only a leading democracy, it is the birthplace of the free Press. If it chooses a statutory regulatory regime, in word or in deed, it will set a dangerous and very high-profile example. Those who seek to secure and extend their power, whether in public office or private, will see in Britain’s choice a very convenient precedent. Please do not give it to them.”
IRIB HispanTV (Iranian state broadcaster): “Freedom of the Press under threat in the United Kingdom” “The British Government’s new measure to regulate the Press puts in danger freedom of expression and democracy in the European country.”
The Australian: “In Britain, as a result of a deal stitched up behind closed doors, we now have a scary system of state oversight of journalism. A Royal Charter will create a Press regulator with the power to maul unruly hacks and editors.”
Die Welt (Germany): A “black day” for the British press.
Le Monde: The regulator will have “little respect for basic liberties”.
L’Express (France): “A sad event in the history of freedom of the Press in the UK”.
El Pais: A “dangerous experiment” with “unforseeable consequences. Putting a stop to a certain kind of Press would not be bad, but the worst thing would be if this resulted in the erosion of Press liberty achieved 300 years ago in one of the oldest democracies in the world.”
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