Legal & ethical restraints in media

Lauren Mawer

Race Relations Act 1976• The Race Relations Act is an act to make fresh provision with respect to

discrimination on racial grounds and regulations between people of different racial groups. It was established by the Parliament of the UK.

• Subjects that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin in the fields of employment, the provision of goods and services, education and public functions.

• Also established the Commission for Racial Equality with a view to review the legislation which was put in place to ensure the Act rules were correctly followed.

• An example of a breach of this law, would be if the BBC were to advertise a job and only accept applications from certain ethnic minority groups. This would discriminate against people not of that ethnic minority.

Human Rights Act 1998• The Human Rights Act 1998, is an Act of Parliament of the UK, which received Royal

Assent on the 9th of November 1998 and mostly came into force in October 2010. The aim of this act is to give a further effect in UK law to the rights contained in the convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, aka the European Convention of Human Rights.

• Right to privacy, Right to live, exist, Right to have a family, To own property, Free Speech, Safety from violence, Equality of both males and females; women's rights, Fair trial, To be innocent until proven guilty, To be a citizen of a country, The right to express his or her sexual orientation, To vote, To seek asylum if a country treats you badly, To think freely, To believe and practice the religion a person wants To peacefully protest (speak against) a government or group, Health care (medical care), Education, To communicate through a language, Not be forced into marriage, The right to love, The right to work.

• Max Mosely won a case against a newspaper, over claims that he had taken part in an orgy that had suspected Nazi overtones. His phone was hacked and contact was made with his family claiming that this had gone on without their knowing.

Licensing Act 2003

• The Licensing Act 2003 is an act that establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises which are used for the sale or supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment, or to provide late night refreshment. Permission to carry on some or all of these licensable activities will now be contained in a single license – the premises license.

Privacy Law• Refers to the laws which deal with the regulation of personal

information about individuals which can be collected by governments and other public as well as private organizations and its storage and use.

• Is the right to be left alone. Privacy laws are considered in the context of an individuals rights or expectation of privacy. Its to ensure broadcasters avoid any infringement of privacy in programmes and in connection with obtaining material included in programmes. Any infringement of privacy must be warranted.

• An example of this is the Milly Dowler case. The News of the World illegally targeted the missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler and her family in March 2002, interfering with police inquiries into her disappearance by hacking into her phone, deleting messages giving her family false hope into thinking she was still alive.

Copyright & Intellectual Property Law

• Copyright applies to work that is recorded in some way; rights exist in items such as literary, artistic, musical and dramatic work as well as films, sound recordings and typographical arrangements. It gives the author specific rights in relation to the work, prohibits unauthorised actions, and allows the author to take legal action against instances of infringement or plagiarism.

Libel law

• English law allows actions for libel to be brought in the High Court for any published statements which are alleged to defame a named or identifiable individual or individuals in a manner which causes them loss in their trade or profession, or causes a reasonable person to think worse of him, her or them.

• For example, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, has had many ‘indecent’ pictures sent around the media. Such as when her skirt has blown up in the wind, or when her dress has fallen loose at the top. It caused a lot of up roar within the media.

Obscene Publications Act

• This is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been described by Margaret Thatcher as "the last bastion of restrictive practices". It governs what can be shown on TV.

• Laws relating to obscene material being published. For example, if a magazine or newspaper published images that were in bad taste, then this would breach the Obscene Publications Act.

Broadcasting Act

• This law has governed what can be published or released in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt.”

• It is a series of laws, that relate to what is legal and illegal to broadcast on TV and radio in the UK. For example, if a TV station decided to show of a pornographic nature, then this would be in breach of the broadcasting act.