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Bill: Freedom of the Press
Details
Submitted by[?]: Protectorate Party
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: March 2078
Description[?]:
| The right of a publisher to produce material must be protected. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change The government's policy regarding regulation of media content.
Old value:: There are laws against the publication of false information; everything else may be published freely.
Current: There are laws against the publication of false information; everything else may be published freely.
Proposed: There are no content regulations; the media may publish anything, even proven falsehoods.
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change The distribution, purchasing and possession of material depicting pornographic acts.
Old value:: All forms of pornography are illegal.
Current: All forms of pornography are legal, but only for adults.
Proposed: Pornography depicting consenting adults is legal for adults.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 05:40:49, July 06, 2005 CET | From | Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Party | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | We are in favor of Article 2, but wonder what the purpose of Article 1 is? Why permit libel (or is it slander?) in a society where none currently exists? |
| Date | 07:07:23, July 06, 2005 CET | From | Social Republican Party | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | Concur with EM |
| Date | 11:13:57, July 06, 2005 CET | From | LibCom Party | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | Likewise. |
| Date | 14:27:18, July 06, 2005 CET | From |  Free Reform Coalition (FRP) | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | its libel if its printed and slander if spoken. and we see no reason for article 1 unless the current system doesn't allow people to make jokes for fear of libel suits. |
| Date | 18:09:48, July 06, 2005 CET | From | Protectorate Party | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | Libel laws can be too constricting for a system of free press. Take for example many peoples interest in tabloid papers, which are seriously constricted under current laws, as is satire as our colleagues in the FRP point out. We are not suggesting free rein of our press, they must not falsely represent themselves. A example is a paper which publishes an april fools issue on the first. They may print clearly false information provided it is clear that this issue is not meant to be taken seriously. |
| Date | 01:27:55, July 07, 2005 CET | From | LibCom Party | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | Satire must be protected. Otherwise EM wouldn't be allowed to publish their manifesto. |
| Date | 11:10:50, July 07, 2005 CET | From | Free Reform Coalition (FRP) | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | EM's manifesto is hysterical. yes, we must ensure freedom of the press while also ensuring that libel, slander and defamation of character remain illegal. this is a hard one to crack, however there have been precedents that we can use to highlight which is libel and which is satire. |
| Date | 05:03:11, July 08, 2005 CET | From | Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Party | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | We're a grassroots experiment by cats in the entertainment scene. Have another puff and you'll all be fine. We should impose a two-toke minimum before starting these debates. |
| Date | 05:05:29, July 08, 2005 CET | From | Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Party | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | You're missing out on the background. http://aiglesrv.no-ip.info:8080/particracy/wiki/index.php/Electric_Mayhem |
| Date | 16:26:58, July 08, 2005 CET | From | Free Reform Coalition (FRP) | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | that was a fun read! |
| Date | 16:28:40, July 08, 2005 CET | From | Free Reform Coalition (FRP) | To | Debating the Freedom of the Press |
| Message | Unfortunately we cannot support this in its current form, but that does not mean we do not support freedom of the press. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 11 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 53 | |||||
| abstain |
Total Seats: 36 |
| Random fact: Party candidates for head of state elections are not visible to the public. This means that you cannot see who will run and who will not, which adds another strategic element to the elections. |
| Random quote: "[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...[where] the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." - James Madison |