The Council's text
139. The Council's revised text, and that of
the Parliament, both return to the list of grounds for offence
in the original 1989 Directive, rather than the Commission's 2005
proposal. These grounds are actually fewer than those set out
in the Treaty.
140. Some of the concerns over the impact of
the new rules on freedom of expression were related to fears over
the scope of the Directive, particularly the electronic press.
As Mr Paulger from the Commission noted, "Now the demarcation
lines are much clearer as regards scope the risk of restrictions
on freedom of expression are much less than they would have been
as the scope had been understood to be in the beginning."
(Q 334)
141. We are persuaded that the rules on harmful
or illegal content will not pose a significant threat to freedom
of speech in the United Kingdom, particularly in light of the
reduced scope of the Directive.
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