Media Law: Understanding Freedom of Expression Chapter Outline  History  Today’s Media Law  Controversies

 What are the 5 clauses of the first amendment?  Name the different types of mass media that exist in our society

 The Development of the Philosophy of Free Speech  Freedom to protest was important to the founders U.S. colonies ▪ After breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church  Protestants made fun of under England’s licensing laws ▪ Not allowed to express religious views for more than a 100 years.

 The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed citizens of the new country five essential and related freedoms: ▪ Religion ▪ Speech ▪ Press ▪ Assembly ▪ Petition  The First Amendment ignited a sometimes bitter debate about free speech that continues to this day.

 In 1798, The Alien and Sedition Acts,  Illegal to criticize the government, through Congress.  Lasted two years, helped Jefferson win the presidency in 1800  The Comstock Act, passed in 1873,  Banned all sex education, birth control, and abortion information,  Made illegal to send these materials through the mail.

 Muckrakers influenced passage of laws ▪ Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 ▪ Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, ▪ Lead to restrictions in what and how the media could advertise. ▪ Espionage Act upheld the censorship of ideas considered injurious to the war effort.

 Clear and Present Danger doctrine  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the in 1919  “The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that the United States Congress has a right to prevent.”

 Regulating Broadcasting  FCC regulated more than radio stations on the frequency spectrum. ▪ The Equal Time Rule ▪ Stations must give equal opportunity for other candidates of same office. ▪ The Fairness Doctrine ( ) ▪ Required broadcasters to give time for discussion of big public issues.

 Telecommunications Act of 1996, ▪ Removed restrictions on a wide range of communications industries ▪ Allowing  Cable TV,  Long distance carriers,  Local phone companies,  Information services  Internet service providers to merge at will.

 In 1957, the Supreme Court decreed that a work could be declared obscene ▪ If, according to the perceptions of the average person applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appealed to the prurient (lustfully depraved) interest of the consumer. ▪ This definition tended to confuse rather than clarify.

 In 1964 Justice Potter Stewart expressed frustration at the difficulties of defining obscenity ▪ He famously said “I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it”.  A new category, indecency, was created for broadcast controls. ▪ The FCC considers material indecent if it is “offensive to community standards for broadcasting.”

 New Technology  In 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act,  Which made it a crime to transmit indecent material over the Internet if minors had access to it ▪ But the Supreme Court found it unconstitutional ▪ Why would this be unconstitutional

 New Technology  Other laws had to be written for crimes that did not exist before the Internet. ▪ A 1996 law made computer espionage illegal. ▪ In the 1990s, federal law made the development and purposeful transmission of computer viruses illegal.

 The Legal System and Types of Law ▪ In criminal law ▪ Criminal acts. ▪ In civil law ▪ Disputes between private parties ▪ Constitutional law ▪ The U.S. Constitution prevails, ▪ Any state or local law that contradicts the First Amendment cannot be legally implemented.

 Statutory law  Collection of laws written by legislative bodies, such as the U.S. Congress,  Administrative law  Made up of the rules and regulations of governmental agencies  Common law  Made up of judges’ rulings which become precedents for future cases.

 Defamation  False communication that and injures the reputation  Slander  Defamation that appears in spoken form, such as speech.  Libel  Published or broadcast defamation.  In most cases, truth is the absolute defense against a charge of libel.  A public figure must prove actual malice ▪ Either knew it was false or had a reckless disregard for the truth,.

 The copyright sign ▪ Does not have to appear in a work for it to be protected.  Fair use ▪ Allows copying of a work for noncommercial use as long as it does not exploit the copyright holder.  Digital Millennium Copyright Act ▪ Made it a crime to break through any technology intended to secure digital copies of software, literary works, videos, and music.

 Some forms of speech are more protected than others. ▪ Political speech ▪ Ideas and facts that backup the ideas about the meaning and correct course of government is the most protected. ▪ Artistic speech ▪ Including creative work such as painting, dance and literature. ▪ Commercial speech ▪ includes advertising. ▪ Indecent speech ▪ Enjoys the least protection.