11 April 2009 · activism

Adbusters Wins Legal victory

“This is a great day for Adbusters,” says Kalle Lasn, editor and co-founder of the magazine. “After 20 years of legal struggle, the courts have finally given us permission to take on the media corporations and hold them up to public scrutiny.”

I’m a big fan of Kalle Lasn, editor and co-founder of Adbusters Magazine and author of the book Culture Jam. For 20 years, he’s been prevented from buying ads in newspapers, magazines and TV. They refuse to take his money! Why? It might have something to do with the content of his ads, which tend to say things “Consume Less”. Lasn believes the Canadian Charter grants EVERY Canadian citizen the right to access the public airwaves, so anyone should be able to buy ads under the same rules and conditions. So Adbusters has been trying to use the legal system to force the TV stations to play ball and in a recent ruling, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has overturned a previous BC Supreme Court ruling which means Adbusters can now take their case against the big media companies to the BC Supreme Court.