The Campaign Against Censorship (CAC) is a non-party political pressure group that opposes

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and promotes

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The group is based in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was formerly named the Defence of Literature and the Arts Society (DLAS). It was founded in 1968 with the publisher

John Calder John Mackenzie Calder (25 January 1927 – 13 August 2018) was a Scottish-Canadian writer and publisher who founded the company Calder Publishing in 1949. Biography Calder was born in Montreal, Canada, into the Calder family associated with the ...

as a prime mover behind it as a direct result of the ''

Last Exit to Brooklyn ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' is a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby Jr. The novel takes a harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s written in a brusque, everyman style of prose. Critics and fellow writers praised ...

'' novel publication trial. In 1976 it sent a delegation to see the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

to argue that "films are subject to unjust discrimination and should be placed on the same legal basis as books and plays as far as content is concerned", and that "the common law offences on indecency should come to an end". In 1983, the group was relaunched as the Campaign Against Censorship.

Guiding principles

The guiding principles of the Campaign are: # The right to obtain and impart knowledge # Freedom from censorship # Freedom for creative artists to present their perceptions, interpretations and ideas # Freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, race, politics or religion.

Officers

Officers of the CAC are Edward Goodman (Chair) a lawyer and former local councillor, Dr Nigel Meek (Publications and Website Officer) and Mary Hayward (Hon. Secretary/Treasurer).

Informal links

Campaign Against Censorship have informal links with

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

and the

Open Rights Group The Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues and by fostering a community of grassroots activists. It campaigns on numerous issues including ma ...

. In recent years, the CAC has also made formal submissions to the Deputy Prime Minister's 2010 Law Review and the 2013 proposals on press regulation. In December 2014, CAC absorbed the remnant of the late David Webb's

National Campaign for the Reform of the Obscene Publications Acts The National Campaign for the Reform of the Obscene Publications Acts (NCROPA) was an anti-censorship campaigning organisation whose goal was the reform of Britain's obscenity laws, in particular the Obscene Publications Act 1959. It was set up in ...

References

Bibliography

External links