L72 Response Accepted AI-assessed

Exemplary Damages for Media Torts

Recommendation

Exemplary damages (whether so described or renamed as punitive damages) should be available for actions for breach of privacy, breach of confidence and similar media torts, as well as for libel and slander. The application to a defendant of any relevant system of regulation of standards enforcement which is contained in or recognised by statute and good internal governance in relation to the sourcing of stories should be relevant to the decisions reached in relation to such damages.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to UK Parliament (3 November 2015; legislation.gov.uk), Sections 34-42 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which provide for exemplary damages against publishers not belonging to a recognised regulatory body, were commenced on 3 November 2015. According to gov.uk (29 November 2012; UK Parliament, 3 November 2015), however, the practical effect of these provisions is limited because Section 40 of the same Act, which would have created a costs incentive for joining a recognised regulator, was never commenced and was repealed by Section 50 of the Media Act 2024.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
29 Nov 2012

Sections 34-42 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 were commenced on 3 November 2015, providing for exemplary damages against publishers not belonging to a recognised regulatory body. However, the practical effect is limited because Section 40 (the costs incentive for joining a recognised regulator) was repealed by the Media Act 2024 without ever being commenced. Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/22/section/34

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Note: PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
03 Nov 2015
UK Parliament legislation

Sections 34-42 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 were commenced on 3 November 2015, providing for exemplary damages against publishers not belonging to a recognised regulator. However this provision is largely toothless in practice because Section 40 (costs incentive) was repealed without ever being commenced, removing the financial pressure for publishers to join a recognised regulator.

View detailed findings

Exemplary damages provisions technically in force but practically ineffective without Section 40. No major newspaper belongs to a recognised regulator.

Crime and Courts Act 2013, Sections 34-42 View Source
Source
Inquiry Leveson Inquiry
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Personal data privacy risks Discriminatory media reporting oversight Civil Law Damages Exemplary Damages Media Torts
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago