Speed and the Internet
25 April 2008
The (now infamous) Max Mosley video is a stark reminder of the need for speed when faced with reputational threats – particularly those that involve publication on the internet.
The video first appeared on the News of the World’s website on Sunday, 30 March. The next day the News of the World agreed not to show it again without first giving Mr Mosley 24 hours’ notice. That one day window when the video remained online allowed enough time for people to post it on other sites like YouTube. Consequently, when Mr Mosley went to court on the Friday to try and stop the News of the World from putting the video back on its site, the Judge refused his request.
In reaching his decision the Judge found that there was no public interest in the video whatsoever (which is the usual justification for allowing something to be published even if it invades a person’s privacy). The Judge’s main reason for refusing was that it would be futile just to ban the News of the World as the video was already on so many other websites. According to the Judge, the court ‘had to guard against slipping into playing the role of King Canute’; in other words, even though it had been online for only a day, the video was by that stage on so many other websites, that it was impossible to turn back the tide.
Even in the increasingly fast moving media landscape, it is still possible to stop illegitimate information from being broadcast. However, to do so one needs to move extremely quickly before, as the Judge put it, the ‘dam bursts’. Whilst only a few years ago having the video removed from a newspaper’s website in a day would be seen as pretty quick; now, crises have to be dealt with in a matter of hours. The Courts are becoming better equipped to deal with the commercial realities of life and the duty judges (there is one available 24 hours a day) know how quickly a media crisis can unfold and are happy to deal with them practically and quickly: in one case a Judge is said to have granted an urgent injunction over his mobile phone whilst in a taxi on his way to dinner.
Written by:
Jenny Afia
Associate
020 034 9157
jenny.afia@schillings.co.uk
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Christopher Mills
christopher.mills@schillings.co.uk
+ 44 (0)20 7034 9000
First published on Gorkana as part of Schillings' regular contribution to their site.
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