DM 2021: media freedom
Highlights from the media freedom debate at conference this morning
The media freedom order paper and debate at NUJ conference this morning started with motion 39 proposed by the national executive council and agreed by DM.
Conference congratulated the union for its robust submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on global media freedoms which contributed to its damning report. The report described the FCO’s effort to promote global media freedom as unclear and incoherent, and lacking focus.
NUJ conference agreed to deplore the action of FCO ministers who prioritised inviting organisations that have no mandate to speak on behalf of journalists to the UK's global conference. The FCO invited the NUJ only after pressure from the union’s parliamentary group but ignored the IFJ and its affiliates representing hundreds of thousands of journalists worldwide.
Delegate meeting recognised the sharp criticism in the report that half the fund earmarked by the FCO to defend media freedom was spent on the two-day conference (£2.5m) saying “there are concerns that the FCO has allocated too few resources, given too little detail about how it will fulfil its campaign, and taken too passing an interest in how to make it sustainable. There is anxiety that this vital initiative by the FCO risks becoming a disappointment.”
The union's conference today agreed that the NUJ should make representation to the FCO at the highest level to seek to advance recommendations including a human right’s sanction against countries or political leaders that intimidate or arrest journalists, promote the IFJ draft UN convention on the protection of journalists and propose union participation in any experts’ structure established.
Motion 40 was proposed by the Continental European Council and was agreed by conference. The motion noted concerns about the continued attacks being made by the UK government on the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights and the British judiciary. It also raised concerns about moves by individuals and organisations to use freedom of speech and religion as justifications for the promotion of discrimination and hate speech.
The motion instructed the union to continue to work at a national level and with the EFJ and IFJ to protect journalists’ rights under the Human Rights Act and the European Convention, continue to publicise amongst NUJ members the importance of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights for the protection of journalists, and the negative consequences for journalists if the Human Rights Act and/or the European Convention protections can no longer be pleaded before a British Court.
The motion also pledged the union continue to work with other trade unions and civil society groups to raise awareness amongst members of the public about the importance of the European Convention on Human Rights and to counter claims that it promotes such things as religious discrimination, unwelcome immigration and the protection of terrorists.
The union committed to continue to oppose any attempts to water down the European Convention on Human Rights, revoke the Human Rights Act, or withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights as well as raise awareness that the right to free speech does not protect hate speech or incitement.
Motion 41 was proposed by the NEC and agreed by conference. The motion focuses on the protection of journalistic sources, noting that this journalistic principle has been a feature of the NUJ’s code of conduct since it was first adopted in 1936.
The motion highlighted the case of NUJ member Bill Goodwin, who risked jail to protect his sources and the eventual ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in 1996 concluded that: “Having regard to the importance of the protection of journalistic sources for press freedom in a democratic society and the potentially chilling effect an order of source disclosure has on the exercise of that freedom, such a measure cannot be compatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights unless it is justified by an overriding requirement in the public interest”. This ruling provides a significant precedent in giving all European journalists the right to protect their sources.
The motion also highlighted the NUJ’s work to support members whose sources were revealed as a result of the ill-regulated use of phone records and metadata. Most recently, the NUJ campaigned for provisions in the Investigatory Powers Act (2017) that would have required prior disclosure to journalists whose records Police intended to access and a requirement that access be obtained in open court. The NUJ has continued to support legal challenges against the secret surveillance of journalists and the Investigatory Powers Act with the aim to create better safeguards.
The motion identified ‘second generation biometrics’ such as facial, iris and voice recognition technology as enabling vast databases of personal information to be amassed. In addition, artificial intelligence technology can be used to automatically identify vast numbers of passers-by who happen to expose their faces to cameras.
NUJ conference agreed that this technology poses a clear threat to journalistic sources and the motion instructed the union to develop a campaign for regulating this technology in a way that explicitly recognises the threat to free and effective journalism. The motion also compelled the union to produce materials to bring the threat posed by second-generation biometrics to the broader membership and to provide advice on how to avoid such identification when the need arises.
Motion 42 was proposed by the Bristol branch, was amended by the Nottingham branch and agreed by conference. It noted the union’s concerns that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws are being used by powerful corporations to stifle and censor journalistic inquiry and freedom of the press. The motion instructed the union to urgently investigate these issues, offer legal support and training, and promote best practice and advice to all NUJ members.
Motion 43 was proposed by London Independent Broadcasting and New Media branch member Alannah Francis who highlighted that “photographers have been attacked”. The motion was agreed and recognised the important work carried out by the I’m a Photographer Not a Terrorist campaign (#phnat). The group is run by press photographers and highlights the restrictions on photography in the public realm and problems with private security policing publicly accessible spaces which are privately owned. DM reaffirmed support for this campaign and instructed the union to donate £200.00 to PHNAT.
Motion 44 focuses on the actions of the Iranian government and their campaign of harassment against journalists. The motion was passed and proposed by the BBC World Service branch. The motion highlights the harassment and persecution of journalists working in London and targeting their families in Iran.
Conference endorsed the NUJ’s ongoing campaigning efforts and instructed the union to continue to call on the government of Iran to stop the targeting of the BBC’s Persian Service, end its criminal investigations against Persian Service staff and lift the asset freeze on BBC Persian Service staff and families. The motion also offered support and solidarity to NUJ members and employees at Iran International who have also been threatened with punitive action.
The motion instructed the union to encourage the NUJ parliamentary group to prioritise seeking an end to the threats, to raise the issues with the Irish government and join with the IFJ in standing in solidarity with the Tehran Association of Journalists who are fighting for editorial independence and the right to report.
Motion 45 was agreed and proposed by the BBC World Service branch. It noted the wave of attacks by the Egyptian media on the BBC and its journalists following an interview with a self-exiled Egyptian who sparked a protest within Egypt. As a consequence, some BBC journalists based in Egypt have been named and portrayed by Egyptian television programmes as spies and traitors. The motion agreed that the NUJ must make it clear to the Egyptian authorities that the NUJ condemns these actions by the state-controlled media. The motion also agreed that the union should urge the BBC to take the necessary measures to protect their journalists including those who live and work in Egypt as well as those who regularly return to the country to visit their families.
Motion 46 was tabled by London magazine branch, it was amended by the national executive and agreed by conference. The motion highlights the severe lack of diversity, democracy and accountability in some of the UK media and noted the sad decision in 2018 to fold the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (CPBF), founded in 1979 with the trade union movement being central to its important work. Former CPBF members and supporters in the north of England have maintained their campaigning activities through their continuing regional organisation CPBF (North). Conference agreed to inform all NUJ branches of the work of Better Media, the Media Reform Coalition and CPBF (North), and to encourage all NUJ branches and members to support such groups and donate to them where appropriate.
Motion 47 was the last motion taken and agreed in the media freedom debate at DM this morning. It was proposed by the New Media Industrial Council and amended by the London Independent Broadcasting and New Media branch. The motion focused on the tech giants having taken a large slice of the search and news aggregation market and they have introduced algorithms which skew results toward certain sites and against others. Conference pledged the union to investigate, expose and critique these techniques and to work with other organisations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Open Rights Group and the Mozilla Foundation on these issues.