LEGAL AND

ETHICAL
REGULATIONS
Omar Rasoul
Race Relations Act 1976
◦ Established by the parliament of the united kingdom the race relations act (1976) was created to prevent race discrimination.
This act covered 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.
◦ Due to a report done into the murder of Stephen Lawrence in which it was discovered that there were racist beliefs within the
metropolitan police which had affected how the murder was investigated
◦ About 20 years ago, a report was done into the murder of a boy called Stephen Lawrence. It found that there were racist
attitudes and beliefs within the Metropolitan police, which had affected how his murder was investigated, due to this the 1976
law was changed in 2000 to include the police for the first time.
◦ The Act was repealed by the Equality Act 2010, which supersedes and consolidates previous discrimination law in the UK.
Broadcasting Act 1990
◦ The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, initiated in part due to a 1989 European Council Directive, also
known as the Television Without Frontiers directive. The aim of the Act was to liberalise and deregulate the British
broadcasting industry by promoting competition; ITV, in particular, had earlier been described by Margaret Thatcher as "the
last bastion of restrictive practices". The act came about after the finding from the Peacock Committee.

◦ It led directly to the abolition of the Independent Broadcasting Authority and its replacement with the Independent Television
Commission and Radio Authority (both themselves now replaced by Ofcom), which were given the remit of regulating with a
"lighter touch" and did not have such strong powers as the IBA; some referred to this as "deregulation". The ITC also began
regulating non-terrestrial channels, whereas the IBA had only regulated ITV, Channel 4 and British Satellite Broadcasting; the
ITC thus took over the responsibilities of the Cable Authority which had regulated the early non-terrestrial channels, which
were only available to a very small audience in the 1980s.
Obscene Publications Act 1959
◦ The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that significantly reformed the law related
to obscenity in England and Wales. The Act mainly aims to protect the public from seeing explicit content, this ranges from
violence to language and sexual content.
◦ The Act applies to television and film as it covers material which is obscene, whether it is in a person's possession or it is
published or broadcast. The main genres affected by the act would most likely be the horror and thriller genres as creators
would need to be aware of the content of the film to keep it within the guidelines.
◦ This law has been put into place to protect the public from being subjected to obscene images or film which in turn could alter
their mind-set or views and cause them to inflict extreme harm on another being or themselves. It would affect broadcasters as
they have to be conscious of the content they show as not to break the law.
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)
◦ The BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification) is s a non-governmental organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912
and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works. It is also
responsible for giving a media product an age rating based on content
◦ Staff at the BBFC have to view the media content and give it a classification and only when this is done can it be released.
Additionally, once the media has been rated no one below the given age rating can view it.
◦ The BBFC dose have an affect on studios and media producers as they would require a particular age rating in order to reach
the intended target audience of the media product and if a suitable age rating cannot be reached then the studio and the BBFC
have to discuss cuts to the film.
Ofcom
◦ Ofcom or the office of communications are the government approved regulatory and competition authority for broadcasting,
telecommunications and postal industries of the UK. Some responsibilities they hold are the decision of who is eligible for a
license. Additionally they publish the broadcasting code which is the guide lines all television and radio stations have to
follow, as this code makes sure no inappropriate content is shown before 9pm which is known as the watershed period of time
and the penalty of breaking this guide line is loosing your license.
◦ Mainly working within the television industry Ofcom have to decide if the content of a programme (Sometimes films) is too
obscene or if it is not. Depending on how gratuitous the contents of a program is decides whether or not the program can be
shown before watershed.
◦ Paying a fine or having their license taken are some consequences a broadcaster can face for showing content that breaks the
broadcasting code and upsets or distresses the audience.