Key Legal and Regulatory Considerations

Media video script - Key Legal and Regulatory Considerations

Hi, so I’m gonna talk to you about some stuff… about Key Legal and Regulatory Considerations…

Okay, so number 1. The freedom of information act. The public has the right to access information that is held by public sector organisations. During the research of any media product, such as in the news industry, access to this date can be requested from a variety of sources including public sector organisations using the Freedom of Information Act.

Number 2. The intellectual property act. If you have worked to produce a piece of work such as an image, script, article or graphic then it is your intellectual property. If someone wants to use it… they can’t. If you produce the work while working for and organisation, you do not own the intellectual property, the organisation does. 

3. GDPR. If you collect data about individuals during the creation of a media products then the Data Protection Act must be adhered to or you could face a lawsuit. Personal data could be collected through journalistic investigation or in a social media campaign.

Number 4! The copyright, designs and patents act 1988. If you have created a piece of music, sound recording, images, films, broadcasts, photographs or written work, then you have the rights to control how it is used by other people. Rights of ownership may vary in length, dependent on the type of media product.

Next up, Libel. You could face a lawsuit if the media product is published containing information about someone that is untrue and damaging to their reputation. This can be in the written form, through the use of imagery or radio broadcast.

Slander carries the same legal implications as libel, and involves making a false statement in the spoken word.

Now onto the regulatory bodies… how riveting! 

Okay, so, ASA, the Advertising Standards Authority. This is a self regulatory organisation of the advertisement industry. ASA have full legal powers, meaning that they can enforce legalisation and decide to censor adverts that may not seem appropriate.

The BBFC! The British Board of Film Classification, this is a non-governmental organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912. They have full-legal powers of the censorship and classification of films being shown.

Now onto PEGI, I’m sure you’ve all heard this being said before an advert for a game. It’s usually followed by a 3, 7, 12, 16 or 18. PEGI stands for the Pan European Games Information. This was established to help European game consumers make informed decisions when buying a video game or app. This is usually through age recommendations and content descriptors.

Now it’s time for Ofcom… no, not the dreaded Ofsted! Ofcom! The Office of Communication. This is a UK government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunication and postal industries of the United Kingdom.

Ever wanted to become a world famous singer? Well then you might want to become a member of the Performing Rights Society! PRS represents their songwriter, composer, and music publisher members’ performing rights, and collects royalties on their behalf whenever their music is played or performed publicly.

IPSO! Saying that out loud, it sounds like an insult! Anyway, IPSO stands for the Independent Press Standards Organisation (kinda takes the away the funniness of it sounding like an insult…). They are the largest independent regulator of the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK and exists to promote and uphold the highest professional standards of journalism in the UK, and to support members of the public in seeking redress where they believe that the Editors’ Code of Practice has been breached.