Media Law and Ethics: Lesson I

Media Law and Ethics
Lesson I
What’s the
objective of
media law?
 Media Law deals with the specific ethical principles and
standards of media including broadcast, print, entertainment
media, internet.
 What’s the positive and negative side of media law?

Law and ethics ?
Law and ethics
 In some instances, law and ethics overlap and in other
situations, they do not overlap.
 A behavior may be considered as ethical to one person or
group but might not be considered as ethical by another.
 Laws may have been legislated, effectively stating the
government’s position.
example
 Overlap ?
 No overlap ?
 Stand the government’s position?

Three levels of Media Law
 International Law
 Constitutional Law
 General Law
International Law: 1
 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 《世界人權宣言》
The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights : Background
 During World War II, the Allies adopted the Four
Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of religion,
freedom from fear, and freedom from want—as their basic
aims.
Freedom from fear
 The fourth is freedom from fear which, translated into world
terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such
a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be
in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against
any neighbor, anywhere in the world.
 —Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 6, 1941
Freedom from Want
 "The third is freedom from want—which, translated into
world terms, means economic understandings which will
secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its
inhabitants—everywhere in the world.“Franklin Delano
Roosevelt
 「免於匱乏的自由」
1943
Norman Rockwell
Thanksgiving
Day:
A holiday
celebrated in the
United States on
the fourth
Thursday in
November
Rights : content
 Article 18
 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or
belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or
belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
 http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
Rights : content
 Article 19.
 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers.
International Law : 2
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
 公民權利及政治權利國際公約
Political Rights
 The right to vote
 The right to be voted
 The equal right before the courts
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights : content
 Article 19 (Right of Freedom of expression)
 1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without

interference.
 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include freedom to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds,
regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in
print, in the form of art, or through any other media of
his choice.
 3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this
article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may
therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be
such as are provided by law and are necessary:
 (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
 (b) For the protection of national security or of public order, or of
public health or morals.
Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law
 France
 <Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen>
 United State
 <The First Amendment>
France
(Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen)
 Article 11: The free communication of ideas and opinions is

one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen
may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but
shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be
defined by law.
Background
Background
 Passed by France's National Constituent Assembly in August
1789.
 A fundamental document of the French Revolution and in
the history of human rights. It defines the individual and
collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal.
Background
 The Declaration was influenced also by the doctrine of
"natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal:
valid at all times and in every place, pertaining to human
nature itself.
 The Declaration became the basis for a nation of free
individuals protected equally by law.
United State
 The First Amendment (1791)
 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or
abridging (刪減) the freedom of speech, or of the press, or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress (補償) of grievances （冤屈）
.
What is the different between…
 <The First Amendment>

General Law
General Law
 Freedom of information law (資訊自由法)
 The Government in the Sunshine Act (陽光法)
 Records Act ( 檔案法)
 Defamation Law (誹謗法)
 The Broadcasting Act (廣播法)
 National Security Law (國家安全法)
1. Freedom of Information Law
 Freedom of information law allows for the full or partial
disclosure of previously unreleased information and
documents controlled by the United States government.
 Why needs Freedom of Information Law?

2. Sunshine Act
 It is one of a number of Freedom of Information Acts,
intended to create greater transparency in government.
 Why needs Sunshine Act?

3. Records Act
 Require inspection and/or disclosure of governmental
records to the public upon request, unless exempted by law.
 The law is similar to the Freedom of Information Act.
 Why needs Records Act?

4. Defamation Law
 An Act to amend the law relating to libel and slander and
other malicious falsehoods.
 Why needs Defamation Law?

5. Broadcasting Act
 The Act is for all legislation which relates to broadcasting.
 Why needs Broadcasting Act?

About Rights
 Fundamental Rights : <Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen>
 Political Rights : Right of vote, the right of being voted, the

right of equality before justice, before law.
 Natural Rights : Thomas Hobbes / John Locke

Natural Rights
 Political theory that maintains that an individual enters into
society with certain basic rights and that no government can
deny these rights.
 Natural rights ……Cannot be sold, transferred, or

removed.
Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679
English
Philosopher
The foundation of most later

Western political philosophy
<Leviathan>
Thomas Hobbes
 The essential natural (human) right was "to use his own
power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own
Nature; that is to say, of his own Life; and consequently, of
doing any thing, which in his own judgment, and
Reason…..“
 Every man has the right to every thing; even to one another's
body……
 War between mankinds ….

John Locke
1632-1704
English Philosopher
Father of Classical
Liberalism
John Locke
 Natural rights is rights are life, liberty and property
 Life: everyone is entitled to the right of living once they are
born.
 Liberty: everyone is entitled to do anything they want to so
long as it doesn't conflict with the first right.
 Estate: everyone is entitled to own all they create or gain
through gift or trade so long as it doesn't conflict with the
first two rights.
John Locke
 Jefferson use in the <Declaration of Independence> of the
phrase "pursuit of happiness" instead of "property”.
 What is the different definition of Natural Right between
Hobbes and Locke?
Social Contract
 Thomas Hobbes
 John Locke
 All of them have the different ideas on natural rights and base
on this natural rights, they create the different concept of
social contract.

Hobbes
 To avoid “War of all against all, free men contract with each
other to establish political community, i.e. Civil society
through a social contract in which they all gain security in
return for subjecting themselves to an absolute Sovereign,
one man or an assembly of men.
 Hobbes saw absolute government as the only alternative to
the terrifying anarchy of a state of nature. In whose view
government is not a party to the original contract.
Locke
 Locke believed that individuals in a state of nature would be
bound morally…
 By The Law of Nature, not to harm each other in their lives

or possession, but without government to defend them
against those seeking to injure or enslave them, people would
have no security in their rights and would live in fear.
Locke
 Locke argued that individuals would agree to form a state
that would provide a "neutral judge", acting to protect the
lives, liberty, and property of those who lived within it.
 While Hobbes did argue thus for near-absolute authority,

Locke argued for inviolate freedom under law.
Locke
 Locke argued that government's legitimacy comes from the
citizens' delegation to the government of their right of self-
defense (of "self-preservation").
 The government thus acts as an impartial, objective agent of

that self-defense, rather than each man acting as his own
judge, jury, and executioner—the condition in the state of
nature.
Key concepts
 Freedom of expression
 Freedom of Publication
 Freedom of Press
 Freedom of thought
 Freedom of speech
 Freedom of association
 Information Law
 Sunshine Act
 Record Act
 Official Secret Act

 Defamation : Act of injuring another's reputation by any
slanderous communication, written or oral; the wrong of
maliciously injuring the good name of another; slander;
detraction……
 Label : A malicious publication expressed either in print or in

writing, or by pictures, effigies, or other signs, tending to
expose another to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Such
publication is indictable at common law; Any defamatory
writing
 Slander : A false spoken statement about someone that is
intended to damage the good opinion that people have
 Right to Privacy
 The Fourth estate
 National Defense
 Sedition : an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful

authority and tending to cause the disruption or overthrow
of the government
End

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Media Law and Ethics

 What’s the positive and negative side of media law?

 Stand the government’s position?

 1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without

 Article 11: The free communication of ideas and opinions is

 <The First Amendment>

 Why needs Freedom of Information Law?

 Why needs Sunshine Act?

 Why needs Records Act?

 Why needs Defamation Law?

 Why needs Broadcasting Act?

 Political Rights : Right of vote, the right of being voted, the

 Natural Rights : Thomas Hobbes / John Locke

 Natural rights ……Cannot be sold, transferred, or

The foundation of most later

 War between mankinds ….

 By The Law of Nature, not to harm each other in their lives

 While Hobbes did argue thus for near-absolute authority,

 The government thus acts as an impartial, objective agent of

 Official Secret Act

 Label : A malicious publication expressed either in print or in

 The Fourth estate

 Sedition : an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful

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