Category / Law and ethics

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Unruly Internet blogs spark rise in libel cases

FeatureThe rapid rise of amateur commentators mounting the soapbox of Internet blogs has led to a small, but growing number of online libel cases. Shannon Proudfoot, CanWest News Service, reports.
No publication ban on Pickton trial

NewsThere will be no sweeping publication ban on the first-degree murder trial of Robert Pickton, even though the accused serial killer could face a second trial at a later date. A British…
Cameras could come to Ontario courtrooms

NewsTelevision cameras are generally barred from Ontario’s courtrooms, but an August 2006 report recommends partial lifting of the ban. “Our justice system is ready for its close-up,” says Attorney General Michael Bryant,…
Internet media law 101

BackgrounderThe Internet has changed the landscape of Canadian media law, but the rules that govern what appears in the traditonal media also apply online. A primer on defamation law, publication bans and…
Canadian libel law chills free speech on Internet

CommentaryCanadian Internet service providers need protection from libel suits sparked by web postings, argues Internet law expert Michael Geist.
Keys to fair reporting on youth crime

FeatureExperts says reporters sensationalize youth crime and contribute to the public misconception that teens are increasingly violent and out of control. Stephanie Cameron checks the facts behind the headlines in the King’s…
Arar, anonymous sources and the duty to report with care

CommentaryCanadian news outlets, however unknowingly, helped smear Maher Arar’s reputation. The editor-in-chief of CBC News says the case highlights why journalists should be wary of using anonymous sources. By Tony Burman. Posted…
Fear of publishing

FeatureMuslim outrage over published caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed has fueled a debate in Canada on what constitutes freedom of speech. Marlene Rego reports in the Ryerson Review of Journalism.
The U.S. government’s assault on press freedom

CommentaryIn a nation that preaches the virtues of democracy, the United States government has consistently eroded the media’s ability to report — undermining the ideals it professes to uphold. Lawyer and law…
Quebec courts reject businessman’s privacy claim

NewsThe Montreal Gazette and two other Quebec media outlets won access in December 2006 to the financial information of a businessman at the centre of a major lawsuit. The Gazette‘s Mike King…