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Freedom of Expression during Olympics


Should the Police have powers to remove posters against the Olympic Games?  

28 members have voted

  1. 1. Should the Police have powers to remove posters against the Olympic Games?

    • Yes
      5
    • No
      12
    • Unsure
      1
    • Don't give a stuff
      11


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It would seem rather draconian were it not written in a comic book. I have to admit I didn't read the whole article, as once I saw it was written by the Daily Fail I didn't waste too much time on it. Suffice to say most headlines in that 'newspaper' can be followed by the word 'No', or the phrase 'No they haven't' to complete their accuracy. This is probably one of them.

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^ It would appear The Guardian (Any better?) reported on it way back in 2009:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/21/olympics2012-civil-liberties

 

More recently, Liberty:-

 

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/campaigns/olympics/freedom-games-.php

 

Now whether or not the Police choose to use these powers remain to be seen. From those people I know residing in Newham, it is, in fact, true - Council Tenants were told quite a while back they weren't allowed to have anti-Olympic material displayed.

 

What I find also of concern is (if it is true) the fact that these powers continue after the games in London have ceased.

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^ It would appear The Guardian (Any better?) reported on it way back in 2009:

 

As did the Mail in the article you linked. The lack of mention of it anywhere since made me slightly suspicious, so I looked up the act in question.

 

The only laws seem to apply to illegal street trading and I see no mention of protests. Whether there are ways for the police to use street trading laws as loopholes is another story but it appears to be mountain from molehill stuff from the admittedly limited reading I've done.

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/12/contents

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/12/section/28

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^ Sections 19 and 22 of the Act:-

 

"19Advertising regulations(1)The Secretary of State shall make regulations about advertising in the vicinity of London Olympic events.

(2)In making the regulations the Secretary of State—

(a)shall aim to secure compliance with obligations imposed on any person by the Host City Contract,

(b)shall have regard to any requests or guidance from the International Olympic Committee, and

©shall also have regard to amenity and public safety.

(3)The regulations shall specify, or provide criteria for determining—

(a)the places in respect of advertising in which the regulations apply,

(b)the nature of the advertising in respect of which the regulations apply, and

©what is, or is not, to be treated for the purposes of the regulations as advertising in the vicinity of a place.

(4)The regulations may apply in respect of advertising of any kind including, in particular—

(a)advertising of a non-commercial nature, and

(b)announcements or notices of any kind.

(5)The regulations may apply in respect of advertising in any form including, in particular—

(a)the distribution or provision of documents or articles,

(b)the display or projection of words, images, lights or sounds, and

©things done with or in relation to material which has or may have purposes or uses other than as an advertisement.

(6)The regulations shall specify, or provide criteria for determining, the period of time during which they apply; and—

(a)the regulations shall apply only for such time as the Secretary of State considers necessary for the purpose of securing compliance with obligations imposed on any person by the Host City Contract, and

(b)the regulations may apply during different periods in respect of different places.

(7)The regulations shall permit, subject to any specified conditions, advertising undertaken or controlled by—

(a)any person specified in the regulations as appearing to the Secretary of State to have responsibility in accordance with the Host City Contract for the control of advertising in relation to the London Olympics (“a responsible bodyâ€), or

(b)any person authorised by a responsible body (whether or not subject to terms and conditions and whether or not in accordance with a sponsorship or other commercial agreement).

(8)The regulations—

(a)may prohibit action of a specified kind or in specified circumstances,

(b)may impose obligations on persons who—

(i)take action in relation to an advertisement, or

(ii)have an interest in or responsibility for a product or service to which an advertisement relates,

©may impose obligations on persons who own, occupy or have responsibility for the management of land, premises or other property,

(d)may, in particular, impose on a person an obligation to take steps to ensure—

(i)that other persons do not take action of a particular kind;

(ii)that a situation is not permitted to continue, and

(e)shall have effect despite any consent or permission granted (whether before or after the commencement of the regulations) by any landowner, local authority or other person."

 

22Enforcement: power of entry(1)A constable or enforcement officer may—

(a)enter land or premises on which they reasonably believe a contravention of regulations under section 19 is occurring (whether by reason of advertising on that land or premises or by the use of that land or premises to cause an advertisement to appear elsewhere);

(b)remove, destroy, conceal or erase any infringing article;

©when entering land under paragraph (a), be accompanied by one or more persons for the purpose of taking action under paragraph (B);

(d)use, or authorise the use of, reasonable force for the purpose of taking action under this subsection.

(2)The power to enter land or premises may be exercised only at a time that a constable or enforcement officer thinks reasonable having regard to the nature and circumstances of the contravention of regulations under section 19.

(3)Before entering land or premises a constable or enforcement officer must take reasonable steps to—

(a)establish the identity of an owner, occupier or person responsible for the management of the land or premises or of any infringing article on the land or premises, and

(b)give any owner, occupier or responsible person identified under paragraph (a) such opportunity as seems reasonable to the constable or enforcement officer in the circumstances of the case to end the contravention of the regulations (whether by removing, destroying or concealing any infringing article or otherwise).

(4)The power to enter premises may be exercised in relation to a dwelling only in accordance with a warrant issued by a justice of the peace; and a justice of the peace may issue a warrant only if satisfied on the application of a constable or enforcement officer that—

(a)there are reasonable grounds to believe a contravention of regulations under section 19 is occurring in the dwelling or on land that can reasonably be entered only through the dwelling,

(b)the constable or enforcement officer has complied with subsection (3),

©the constable or enforcement officer has taken reasonable steps to give notice to persons likely to be interested of his intention to apply for a warrant, and

(d)that it is reasonable in the circumstances of the case to issue a warrant.

(5)The power to remove an article may be exercised only if the constable or enforcement officer thinks it necessary for the purpose of—

(a)ending the contravention of regulations under section 19,

(b)preventing a future contravention of the regulations,

©enabling the article to be used as evidence in proceedings for an offence under section 21, or

(d)enabling the article to be forfeited in accordance with section 143 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c. 6). ..."

 

... as highlighted by Liberty.

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Liberty also highlights this:

 

While the type of material that could be banned under the Regulations is potentially very wide, Regulation 7 provides that advertising activity which is intended to “demonstrate support for or opposition to the views or actions of persons or bodies of persons, or to publicise a belief, cause or campaign or mark or commemorate an event†is excepted from the banning regime.

 

*insert patronising ellipsis*

 

The main issue seems to be with people a) using Olympic traffic for commercial gain and/or B) abusing the Olympic trademarks.

 

I fully agree the wording is ambiguous, and could potentially be abused by police, but I really don't expect to be used to quash anti-Olympic sentiment.

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Restrictions appear to apply to what kind of ATM you can use at the Olympics

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jun/01/visa-cuts-atms-london-olympics

 

Ticketholders attending the Olympics should expect long queues to get money out at venues after 27 cash machines at sites such as Wembley are replaced by eight Visa ATMs.

 

Visa confirmed that it was replacing the existing cash machines at various Olympic sites with machines running on its own system as part of its exclusivity arrangement as a sponsor. The move means people with Mastercard credit or debit cards will not be able to use the ATMs to withdraw money.

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"But the law has been drawn so widely that it also includes 'non-commercial material' - which could extend its reach to include legitimate campaign literature........

 

........Scotland Yard denied it had any plans to use the powers.

Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison said: 'We have no intention of using our powers to go in and take down demonstration posters.' "

 

So another Daily Outrage non-story based on a far-flung and obscure potential situation.

 

Usual scaremongering DM pish.

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"But the law has been drawn so widely that it also includes 'non-commercial material' - which could extend its reach to include legitimate campaign literature........

 

........Scotland Yard denied it had any plans to use the powers.

Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison said: 'We have no intention of using our powers to go in and take down demonstration posters.' "

 

So another Daily Outrage non-story based on a far-flung and obscure potential situation.

 

Usual scaremongering DM pish.

 

edit: Couldn't vote as there is no "Tabloid pish" option. Sorry.

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