1. LEGAL CONSTRAINTS IN
MEDIA
THOMAS ROSS

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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"