UK Creates New Regulator for the Press

The British government's plan to regulate the press cleared its final hurdle Oct 30 by gaining the formal consent of Queen Elizabeth. Her approval came just hours after a group of newspaper publishers, who said the plan could threaten press freedom, failed to block it with a last-ditch legal challenge.

Through a Royal Charter, a document issued by the queen, the government created an independent regulator empowered to make print publications that have voluntarily agreed to the charter issue apologies and/or corrections if they break its code of conduct. The regulator can impose fines of as much as £1 million ($1.6 million) for serious breaches. Though there is no penalty for publications that don't sign on to the charter, a publisher who doesn't could face greater liability, such as in libel cases.