Win for Press Freedom & Social Networking as Bid to Gag the Guardian Dropped

An encouraging win for press freedom overnight as lawyers representing the oil trading firm Trafigura, embroiled in a controversy over the dumping of toxic waste in Ivory Coast, dropped a bid to enforce the terms of a "super injunction" that would have prevented the Guardian newspaper (UK) from reporting the details of a question asked in parliament, referring to Trafigura, by MP Paul Farrelly.

The legal proceedings became fruitless after a torrent of citizen journalists used Twitter and other outlets to publish the content online ahead of the hearing. The episode shines a light on the use of so-called "super injunctions" which seek to keep all details surrounding a matter, including the existence of an injunction itself, secret. Some good commentary in all the UK nationals today flagging the obvious perils.

Take a look at the Guardian's account here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/13/trafigura-drops-gag-guardian-oil