Does the worldwide embrace of social media mean that it is practically impossible to protect reputations?

Assignment:
Answer ONE of the following questions.

(1) In the aftermath of Jack Monroe’s successful libel action against her, Katie Hopkins claimed
that “the defamation bar is as low as my labia,” despite the introduction of the ‘serious harm’
threshold in the Defamation Act 2013. Making reference to her case and others, analyse the
extent to which she is right – and whether this means that the reform to libel law has failed.
(2) Does the worldwide embrace of social media mean that it is practically impossible to protect
reputations?
(3) The Leveson Report has proven very difficult to implement, and the UK government has
recently decided not to proceed with the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry. In the light of this,
analyse why protection for privacy from press intrusion is so difficult to bring into law?
(4) In January 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that the UK government’s surveillance legislation
was unlawful. With reference to the history of that legislation, discuss why surveillance so often
clashes with human rights law.
(5) In 1999, then CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, told journalists “you have zero
privacy anyway. Get over it.” In the light of developments in technology, business and law since
then, was he right?

Format
Font Size: 12 Point
Font Type: Times New Roman
Line Spacing: 1.5
Left and right hand margins: 1.25” (3.175 cm)
Top and bottom margins: 1” (2.5 cm)
Coursework Assessment Criteria
Your work will be assessed according to the Law School’s Postgraduate Assessment Criteria,
printed at the end of this document with generic marking Guidelines.
Referencing
Your coursework should clearly distinguish between your original words and ideas, and those of
others. When referring to the work of others, from books, journals or any other source (including
the internet), it is essential that you make this clear by acknowledging your source and referencing
correctly. Failure to reference correctly will lose you marks and may constitute plagiarism
or collusion.
You should make use of the Oxford system of referencing, OSCOLA. Full details of its
requirements can be found here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/publications/oscola.php . A useful short
guide is here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_Quick_Reference_Guide_001.pdf]

Word limit 5,000 words
One of the assessment criteria for this coursework is a requirement to write to a specified word
length (see below) as it is an important professional skill for any aspiring lawyer. Students should
declare the word count on the first page (or cover page) of their assessed work. The word count for
coursework shall include footnotes/endnotes but excludes front sheet, contents page, bibliography
and/or list of cases. For the avoidance of doubt, your bibliography should list/collate only the
material you refer to in your substantive piece (i.e. your references); it is NOT a list of all the
material you have read in order to construct your answer.
Learning and Teaching Service Staff may check the accuracy of your stated word count.
Students are permitted to go up to 10% over the word limit without penalty. However, the ability to
write concisely is considered a key legal skill. Where a student exceeds the word limit by more
than 10%, there will be a deduction of 10 marks off the original mark. In addition, the marker is only
obliged to read up to the 10% limit but is not obliged to read beyond it. There shall be no deduction
of marks or other penalty where an item of coursework otherwise does not meet the expected word
length. However, it is important to remember that failing to provide sufficient material, producing
material that lacks focus or including material that is irrelevant will probably result in a lower mark
on the basis of the lack of academic merit of the work submitted.