Freedom to publish

The strength of the UK’s publishing industry – historically and today – is built on our country’s commitment to free and open expression of thoughts and ideas. We welcome  government commitments to preserving free speech.  

In future trade agreements and international instruments, we urge the UK to champion its commitment to free speech and the unfettered freedom to publish.  

Ensuring that trading partners commit to these principles not only advances an inherent human right, but also limits the scope for state censorship or publishing restrictions to be used as a non-tariff barrier against the UK publishing industry.  

When considering this issue, the government should be mindful of not just those countries where direct censorship policies are well known, but also note the potentially chilling effect that can occur via other less direct ways of placing legal constraints on freedom of expression, for example in the areas of data protection, media regulation and laws around access to information. 

Promoting freedom to publish is a core part of our work and we work closely with international partners such as the International Publishers Association to further this agenda.