LEGAL CONSTRAINTS IN MEDIA

Alex Nesbit

RACE RELATIONS ACT 1976

The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom

to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. Items 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.

The Act also established the Commission for Racial Equality with a view to review the

legislation, which was put in place to make sure the Act rules were followed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/5638119/Jewish-school-breaks-

Race-Relations-Act.html here is case of the race relations act coming into force after

Jewish schools discriminated against a mother and her child

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998

The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom

which was passed on 9th November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2

October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained

in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental

Freedoms, but more commonly known as the European Convention on Human

Rights. The Act makes available in UK courts a remedy for breach of a

Convention right, without the need to go to the European Court of Human

Rights in Strasbourg.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosley_v_United_Kingdom this is a story about Max

Mosley sueing the News of the world for phone hacking.

LICENSING ACT 2003

The Act sets out four licensing objectives which must be taken into account when a local

authority carries out its functions. They are:

the prevention of crime and disorder,

public safety,

prevention of public nuisance, and

the protection of children from harm

The Licensing Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act

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.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/17/web-browsing-copyright-supreme-court-

meltwater this is about web links being used and weather newspapers are breaking the

law by using them.

PRIVACY LAW

Privacy in English law is a rapidly developing area of English law that considers in

what situations an individual has a legal right to informational privacy the protection

of personal or private information from misuse or unauthorised disclosure. Privacy

law is distinct from those laws such as trespass or assault that are designed to

protect physical privacy.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/phone-hacking the latest scandal was recent

and it was to do with the news of the world phone hacking celebrities to find out

things that should’ve remained out of the public domain they were eventually sued

and the paper has now been shut down. The case to prosecute is still on going

COPYRIGHT & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Intellectual property rights are the legally recognized exclusive rights to creations of

the mind. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive

rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works;

discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common

types of intellectual property rights include copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial

design rights, trade dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets.

The way to stop people ripping you off is get your idea patented and copyright

http://www.fairwagelawyers.com/most-famous-music-copyright-infringment.html

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; note that under English law companies are legal

persons, and may bring suit for defamation 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. Allowable defences are justification the truth of the statement fair

comment whether the statement was a view that a reasonable person could

have held and privilege whether the statements were made in Parliament or in

court, or whether they were fair reports of allegations in the public interest An

offer of amends is a barrier to litigation. A defamatory statement is presumed to

be false, unless the defendant can prove its truth.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/dec/20/libel-law-reynolds-

defence-flood-times-channel-4

OBSCENE PUBLICATIONS ACT

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 (c. 66) is an Act of Parliament of the United

Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity in

England and Wales. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene

materials was governed by the common law case of R v Hicklin, which had no

exceptions for artistic merit or the public good. During the 1950s, the Society of

Authors formed a committee to recommend reform of the existing law, submitting a

draft bill to the Home Office in February 1955. After several failed attempts to push

a bill through Parliament, a committee finally succeeded in creating a viable bill,

which was introduced to Parliament by Roy Jenkins and given the Royal Assent on

29 July 1959, coming into force on 29 August 1959 as the Obscene Publications Act

1959. With the committee consisting of both censors and reformers, the actual

reform of the law was limited, with several extensions to police powers included in

the final version.

BROADCASTING ACT

The Broadcasting Act 1990 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 led directly to the abolition of the Independent Broadcasting Authority and its

replacement with the Independent Television Commission and Radio Authority (both

themselves now replaced by Ofcom), which were given the remit of regulating with

a "lighter touch" and did not have such strong powers as the IBA; some referred to

this as "deregulation"