Knowledge Section Flashcards
4 kinds of criminal offences recognised by the Crown Prosecution Service and Director of Public Prosecution that can be committed by communicating though social media.
1) Credible threats of violence. Section 16 of the offences against the persons act 1861.
2) Communications targeting specific individuals. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
3) Breach of court orders. Contempt of Court Act 1981 and Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 1992.
4) Communications which are grossly offensive, indecent, obscene. Section 1 of Malicious Communications Act 1988 or under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
Changes in the Editors Code of Practice from 1st January 2016 - in particular new categories of public interest definition
1) Accuracy
- For the first time specific reference is made to headlines not supported by the text of the article breach.
2) Reporting of suicide
- Becomes the subject of a stand -alone clause, reflecting concerns about the publication of excessive detail about methods of suicide.
3) Gender Identity
- Is added to the list of categories covered by the discrimination clause, which protects individuals from prejudicial and pejorative reporting.
4) The duty of editors to maintain procedures to resolve complaints swiftly, and to co-operate with the independent press standards organisation, becomes enshrined in the codes preamble.
5) Public Interest
iv) Disclosing a persons or organisations failure or likely failure to comply with any obligation to which they are subject.
v) Raising or contributing to a matter of public debate, including serious cases of impropriety, unethical conduct or incompetence concerning the public.
vii) Disclosing concealment, or likely concealment, of any of the above.
4 methods of protecting journalist sources both legal and practical
1) Encrypting emails (practical)
- to protect the content from being read by other entities than the intended recipients.
2) Anon browser (practical)
- Keep your IP address anonymous
3) Anonymity. Article 8, ECHR 1998 (legal)
- Right to respect for private and family life
4) Contempt of Court Act 1981 (legal)
- Contempt of court is a publication which creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced.
New anonymity provisions in UK media law
1) Sexual Offence reporting restriction have been extended to all victims under the 2015 Modern Slavery Act. This means that anonymity has been extended to victims of forced labour etc and not just prostitution.
2) Victims of Female Genital Mutilation are now entitled to life long anon. Section 71 of the serious Crime Act 2015
3) Victims of forced marriages in England and Wales now get life long anon under 2016-2017 Policing and Crime Bill
4) Statutory anon is not available to victims of revenge porn under 2015 Criminal Justice and Courts Act though the media do this voluntarily anyway.
5) 2011 Education Act giving anonymity for teachers accused of crimes in schools until formally charged by police.
6) April 2015, April threshold for anonymity for youth defendants in Scottish criminal trails was raised from 16 to 18.
Libel defences of privilege, public interest and honest opinion (defamation act 2013)
1) Public Interest
- you must be able to prove that what you saying serves the need of the public. Reasonable journalism/’reynolds defence.
- Defamation Act 2013 section 4
2) Honest Opinion
- Opinion can be based on allegations made in a court case, in parliament, in a peer-reviewed statement in a scientific or academic journal, or in a publication satisfying the new public interest defence or a fact UNDER SECTION 4 OF THE DEFAMATION ACT 2013.
3) Privilege
- Qualified, is conditions include fairness and accuracy without malice: senior police office, government department, public meeting, press conference, scientific/academic journal.
- High, High privilege means it can only be defeated by malice: parliamentary reports
- Absolute, enables you to report malicious statements made in evidence: court reports.
Fair dealing defence for UK copyright law and how it deals with databases
Defence of fair dealing
1) Criticism
2) Review
3) Parody
4) Quotation
5) Use in reporting a current event (images/photos are excluded in current events).
6) Very rare public interest defence can a image be used if there is no other way to report it.
In the UK database owners are entitled to ‘database rights’ under an EU 1996 Database directive that was implemented in English law a year later.
Basic definition of media contempt and at least 3 major risks in publication - the worst things you could report
- Protecting the right to a fair trail without prejudice from media coverage.
- Have you created a risk of delaying or preventing a fair trail, or breached court orders postponing or prohibiting publication?
- Maximum jail sentence of two years and an unlimited fine.
The worst things to report:
1) Children
2) Anyone who has the right to anonymity, sexual assault victims
3) Non fair and accurate information
4) Never report anything said in the absence of the jury
5) Never reveal secret identity
4 significant media privacy case law studies
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell had previously sneered, that unlike most people in the industry, she did not take drugs. However a newspaper discovered that she was seeking rehabilitation for drug addition and attended narcotics anonymous (NA) meetings and published their findings in 2001.
The newspaper took candid photos of Ms Campbell leaving NA and published an article about her being a ‘secret’ drug addict. Ms Campbell decided to take the newspaper to court over breaches of privacy. Whilst she accepted that it was in the public interest to know that she was a drug addict, due to her prior statements saying otherwise, he legal team argued that the photos and disclosure of her attendance at the NA meeting was a breach of her right to privacy.
Max Mosley
The court case arose in 2008 after News of the World published an article with photos and videos, that they alleged showed Max Mosley taking part in a ‘sick Nazi-orgy’. Max Mosley is high status and associated with Formula One, his father was famously anti Semitic.
Mr Mosley took New of the World to court, claiming it was libel. The case hinged on whether the judged believed that the S&M party had any anti-semitic or Nazi undertones, as this would make the story public interest. After reviewing the videos, the judge concluded that the behaviour was usual for S&M and didn’t seem to mock or impersonate victims of the holocaust, however a breach of privacy was breached.
Tiger Woods
Privacy injunction in December 2009, but ineffective because all of the information already in global public domain after US coverage where the first amendment freedom of expression and media has precedence.
Steve Mclaren
Former England Manager Steve McLaren lost a privacy injunction application against the Sun over an extra-marital affair with woman at the FA
High Court judge argued that there is public interest in public figures as moral ‘role models.’
Section 16 of the offences against the persons act 1861.
Credible threats of violence
Contempt of Court Act 1981 and Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 1992
Breach of court orders
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Communications targeting specific individuals
Section 1 of Malicious Communications Act 1988 or under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
Communications which are grossly offensive, indecent, obscene
2015 Modern Slavery Act
Sexual Offence reporting restriction have been extended to all victims under the 2015 Modern Slavery Act. This means that anonymity has been extended to victims of forced labour etc and not just prostitution.
Section 71 of the serious Crime Act 2015
Victims of Female Genital Mutilation are now entitled to life long anon. Section 71 of the serious Crime Act 2015
2016-2017 Policing and Crime Bill
Victims of forced marriages in England and Wales now get life long anon under 2016-2017 Policing and Crime Bill
