Law Recap Lecture Five:

Freedom of Information:

Handling information

-    Data protection - information kept safes and private and only used for the purpose in which they requested the information. Eg. Companies with your address. It would not be given out to members of the public. A barrier of information. You can only request data protection documents of yourself.

-    Official Secrets Act - detailed plans and sensitive information. Usually crucial to the defence of this country.

-    Confidentiality - agreement between two people. Medical researchers want to analyse peoples records to see if they can cure diseases by analysing large groups. But this info is confidential. People don't want their records known but this could happen if people become anonymous.

Most law is about limited information - FoI has a purpose of releasing information. Why? So that the government aren't accountable which makes them appear legitimate. We can find information.

-   FoI was enforce in 2005. Civil servants hate it.

-    Any citizen can out in a request for information from a public bodies.

-    Only 12% of journalist make foi requests.

-    Tony Blair, in the new labour manifesto gave points in favour because of the public interest. But then regretted that decision because over his time in parliament information which put his decisions and policy in a bad light was available. Not just the problems the last government made!   

The basic principle of FoI - any person can make a request for information. It may not be excepted if there is a valid reason. A request can be made through an email, it's free.

They say no because it's too expensive! If it costs more than £600 they can refuse.

- Or if it's exempt - Absolute exemption (security service or court records) or Qualified exemption (commercial confidentiality)

-    information is covered by a qualified exemption you should still be given it in the balance of the public interest favours disclosure.

-    Public interest - in the public interest, not merely interesting tone public.

-    Defined by common law.

-    Qualified exemption has 23 possible exemptions.

How long does it take? 20 working days. They must respond promptly. Or 40 days if they need to decide if it's in the public interest.

If they say no:

Internal review.

Information commissioner

Information tribunal

High court

Example - expenses scandal heather Brooke's.

The government is considering adding more limts to the FOI act:

Government wants to limit groups it individuals making too many requests there they become to burdensome.

Lower limits on costs, leading to more requests being refuse.

Include other factors - such as time taken to release the info or not - into the cost calculations.

Press organisations and freedom of speech campaigners have been very critical of the plans. Attack on journalists!! 

Law Recap Lecture Four:

Media Law - Copyright:

-    Copyright protects intellectual property. Creative content.

-    When  quoting other peoples material they must be attributed. Under certain circumstance we can use that material.

-    Clean up of copyright - their might be a parody clause in new law.

-    Intellectual property operation - IPO

-    Fair dealing - get out if jail card- allows use of material within guidelines.

-    Photographs cannot be used under fair dealing. A photographs copyright relies on consent.

-    If copyright mistakes are made, like other legal ones you won't be trusted in an organisation. Competence.

-    What's not protected? Slogans, undeveloped ideas, catchphrase. Dan brown copy right - holy grail.

-    Getting wrong will cost you money!

-    Fair dealing - for the purpose of reporting if current events we can lift the thrust of stories/quotes from rivals. Must be attributed. In hour public interest. Usage must be fair.

-    Fair dealing allows wider reporting of stories in public interest. Criticisms and reviews of material. Broadcast news obits of film stars can use their movie clips

-    Danger areas - the internet YouTube, Facebook etc. Sports coverage - news access rights. Photographs and film archive.

-    Recognise copyright issues early. Contacting right holders takes time. Tell others if you have copyright cleared. Don't life material without reference up!

IPO modernising copyright document - useful to understand copyright

Law Recap Lecture Three:

Media Law - Defamation and Libel:

Current examples of libel/defamation:

-    Phone hacking got rid of the risk of defamation and libel law suits because there was a recorded defence - a lawyer wouldn't have a prosecution case because it's true.

-    Lord Alpine implicated in the child abuse scandal among the BBC. BBC news night didn't name him but implied his involvement (jigsaw identification) and came out because of its presence on social media. He took out a libel case and the case was settled but he recently died.

What is defamation? What you write or broadcast about someone or a company 'tends to' lower them in estimation of right thinking people, causes them to be shunned or avoided, disparaged them in their business, trade or profession or exposes them the hatred, ridicule or contempt.

Defamation via pictures:

A common danger in TV, a careless use of background shots with voice over can be defamatory - juxtaposition.

People or companies must not be identifiable in certain contexts - child abuse, fraud etc.

Reputation and meaning - reputation is precious, especially if you have a public life, have money or both. Inference is a hazard. Sometimes we cannot see it if we've written it. If you think it could be misinterpreted give it to someone else to read. Innuendo is a hazard also. Asses the whole context of the story.

Libel cases are civil cases but have a jury and so they are costly.

Summary -

Classic definition of Libel - Publication + Defamation + Identification = Libel.

Libel defences:

-    A statement must cause serious harm - " harm to the reputation of a body that trades for profit is not "serious harm" unless it has caused or is likely to cause the body serious financial harm."

 (Mclibel - under this new law the Mclibel case probably would never have gone to court because handing out leaflets is not going to have serious harm on a multinational company - no social networking existed then so it was only the leaflets have the effect.)

-    Honest opinion (fair comment) must show it as an opinion which could be held by an honest person, based upon a known fact at the time of writing. Malice will undermine this defence - must appear disinterested.

-    Public interest - if the the statement complained of was, or formed part of a statement on matter of public interest; and the defendant reasonably believed that publishing the statement complained of was in the public interest (Renalds case).

-    Web publication - it's a defence where for the operator to show that it was not the operator who posted it on the website.

-    Peer reviewed academic journals are privileged.

-    Absolute privilege - court reporting

-    Qualified privilege - police reports, presser.

-    Bane and antidote

-    Apologies and clarifications

www.legislation.gov.uk - Deformation Act 2013

You have no defence when you have not checked your facts, when you have not 'referred up' asked a senior editor, when you have not looked at what you're writing from a different point of you - Put yourself in their shoes, don't get carried away by a spicy story, not bothered to wait for a lawyers opinion.