1. Race relations act
1976
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.
For example there was an incident a few years back on big brother
involving Jade Goodie and Shipa Shetty. Where Jade referred to Shipa
with a intentionally racist and discriminating phrase. The screening of
these comments resulted in international and national media coverage
and there were responses from the Indian Government and British
Government regarding the matter. This eventually resulted in Ofcom
ruling that channel 4 had breached the Ofcom code of conduct and
statuary sanctions were placed on the network. Channel 4 and big
brother also lost a lot of sponsors.

2. Human Rights Act
1998
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.
• The most recent breach of this was all the recent phone hacking and the
scandals that has caused: link to recent news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
27801770

3. Licencing
Act 2003
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.
They have four licencing objectives:
The prevention of crime and disorder
Public safety
Prevention of public nuisance
Prevention of children from harm

4. 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.
• The newest example of this would be the phone hacking scandal of news
of the world http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27801770

5. Copyright & Intellectual
Property Law
• Refers to any creative work or invention considered to be the property of
its creator. Often, recognized and protected under the corresponding
fields of law. Owners are granted certain exclusive rights, such as the
ability to publish to various markets, license the manufacture and
distribution of inventions, and sue in case of unlawful or deceptive
copying.
• Here is a list of examples that breached the law:
• http://lawvibe.com/top-10-copyright-law-scandals-that-rocked-the-world-
in-2009/

6. 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.
• Here is a story I found that involves libel law:
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/alan-white/2012/10/%C2%A315m-
scandal-our-libel-laws-are-silencing

7. 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.
• http://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/media-law/other-laws-
affecting-broadcasting/obscene-publications-act-1959

8. 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,“
• This law is to protect viewers from any form of media intended to corrupt
them here is a few examples:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_controversies