Spain Deals New Law Limiting Freedom of Expression

As of today, the Spanish Senate has proposed a new law that would limit the number of protests in the country. A fine from €600 to €600,000 can be imposed on officials who organise illegal protests throughout the country. A global outcry demanded the law be trashed.

Today, Spanish protesters could only hold protests against the government if they fulfill certain stricter requirements. Officials must obtain licenses from regional governments before they could schedule their protests. Meanwhile, disruptive protests could receive higher fines.

A fine of €600 goes to protest officials whose protests are illegal in undisclosed areas. A fine of €30,000 is given if the protests create disruption or infrastructure and property damages against parliament and regional government offices. Disrupting operations in Spanish refineries, nuclear plants and other industrial sites with or without a license could cost about €600,000 in total fines.

The ‘gag law’, which is to be ratified by the next month came under fire from different activist groups.

Greenpeace said that it is the citizens’ right to express their opinion and march against parliament.

Meanwhile, the Platform in Defence of Freedom of Information said that it is one of the gravest attacks against liberty since “the time of Franco.”

England Now Bans Smoking in Cars With Children.

Any vehicle or parent who is driving with children and consumes tobacco will be fined £50 per offense. The new law will be implemented on October 1 in England and Wales. Meanwhile, Scotland is also considering introducing a similar ban.

The British Lung Foundation considers the new law a victory, however opposition deems that it is an “unenforceable” law.

Anybody who is driving alone or driving a convertible with the top down will not be fined for smoking.

Around 342 MPs had voted in favour of the new bill while 74 had been in opposition.

The BLF said that 430,000 children are exposed to second-hand smoke in vehicles every week. This increases the risk of asthma, meningitis and even death among young children.

Public Health Minister Jane Ellison said that three million children are inhaling second-hand smoke in cars, which puts their health at risk.

"We know that many of them feel embarrassed or frightened to ask adults to stop smoking which is why the regulations are an important step in protecting children from the harms of secondhand smoke."

Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: "This is a tremendous victory.

"We urge the Government to show the same commitment to introduce standardised packaging for all tobacco products, in order to protect the 200,000 children taking up smoking every year in this country.

"We are certain that these measures together will prove to be two of the most significant milestones for public health since the smoke-free legislation of 2007."

Northern Ireland’s Ban on Gay Marriage Now Faces Legal Challenge

A Belfast court would be hearing the case of the Rainbow Project, a gay rights organisation in Northern Ireland, against the ban on gay marriage in the region.

The Rainbow Project pushed the litigation after a gay couple married in England now living in Northern Ireland, did not have their marriage lawfully constituted in Northern Ireland. They have taken legal action to have it recognised as such.

The couple remains anonymous and is represented by the Rainbow Project.

John O’Doherty, Rainbow Project’s Director, said “We are very happy to support this important legal challenge. While same-sex marriage legislation in Westminster had many positive aspects, we believe that its provision forbidding the recognition of lawful same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland is irrational, contrary to principles of British constitutional law and incompatible with the European convention on human rights.

“We are resolute in our assertion that no one can be married in one part of the United Kingdom and then not married in another. Once a couple is lawfully married in the UK, we contend that their relationship cannot be reclassified as a civil partnership without their consent, which is exactly what the law currently does. The legislation says to lawfully married people that they are no longer married. This is unconscionable and cannot be permitted to continue.

“Marriage is a fundamental human right, which is now recognised in the UK as including same-sex couples. We will work to ensure that this right is realised for everyone in the United Kingdom and we are confident that marriage equality will be achieved in Northern Ireland.”

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Google Closed Down In Spain Due To New Law

The “Ancillary Copyright Law” had shut down the Spanish version of Google News effective from December 16, 2014. The shutdown is its response to the changes in Spanish intellectual property law that would impose compulsory fees for the use of snippets of text to link to news articles by online news aggregators that provide a special service.

Spain’s law is similar to Germany’s implementation of the law in 2013. Germany’s “ancillary copyright law” has no heritage in copyright law. It had also been a manifest failure as publications willingly forfeited their right to payment from Google because they realised the traffic loss they would got when they’re not indexed in Google.

Meanwhile, Spain does not allow media publications in Spain to forfeit their payment from Google. 

This prompted Google News to stop its Spanish services. 

Many analysts said that it is difficult to see what type of progress will it give for the Spanish press and Spanish-speaking internet users worldwide.

Meanwhile, many speculate that Yahoo News will also arrange for an exodus from the country.

Analysts said that the ancillary copyright laws only follow part of a broader trend of heavy regulation used by European countries against US tech companies. They said that authorities are concerned about US tech companies using information gathered from Europeans without paying their fair share of taxes. 

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Qatar May Introduce New Labour Legislation by 2015

Under pressure from international community and civil rights groups, Qatar has pledged to introduce new labour legislation by 2015 to improve the rights of its migrant workers.

The international community considers Qatar’s current sponsorship system as similar to modern-day.

The sponsorship law, known as “Kafala”, limits the rights of movement of foreign workers. According to reports by different groups, Kafala has led to widespread exploitation of foreign workers.

According to the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry of Qatar, a new legislation is currently under review and they expect to make announcements by early next year.

In May, Qatar’s government said that it would change the sponsorship system and will begin to use employment contracts.

The current labour legislation also prevent foreign workers to change their jobs by the end of their contract. The new legislation would remove this, along with the certificate of non-objection needed by these sponsored migrant workers to change their occupation.

Because of its harsh working conditions, Qatar had almost lost its 2022 FIFA World Cup deal after reports of ill-treatment of workers had caused deaths in constructing the arena.

Most migrant workers in Qatar come from Southeast Asia and other areas in Eurasia.

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