7.

2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

In this essay I will show an understanding of legal and ethical issues within
the media sector industry and how they stick to the relevant regulations.

Ethical means relating to moral principles or the branch of knowledge

dealing with these.
They affect how people make decisions. Ethics is concerned with what is
good for individuals and society. It is also described as moral philosophy.
Ethical refers to the construction in any medium of aspects of reality such
as; people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other concepts.
These representations may be shown in speech, writing and still or moving
pictures.

Legal means relating or permitted by your countries law.

The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament. The aim of the
Act was to improve the entire structure of British broadcasting. 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 the ill-fated 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.
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

https://www.slideshare.net/Mattwattsmedia/legal-ethical-and-contractual-
constraints-in-the-media-industry-13456879
http://damenexample.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ethical-and-legal-constraints-
within.html

Regulation is a rule or directive that is enforced by some form of authority.

There are several forms of regulations such as; safety, food, electronics,
maintenance etc. All companies have a form of regulation and it varies
depending on what that company is made for.
There are many types of regulators for the media sector such as: CAP,
ASA, BBFC, PEGI/VSC, PCC, IPSO, IMPRESS, PRP, ATVOD, Leveson
Inquiry, Royal Charter and OfCom.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc/media-centre/uk-media-regulators-launch-
parents-website

I am going to briefly explain two of these: ASA and CAP.

https://www.
asa.org.uk/
ASA stands for Advertising Standards Agency.
They monitor adverts and keep them in check to prevent any issues or
concerns that the public might have. They respond to concerns and
complaints from customers and businesses and take action to ban ads
which are: misleading, harmful, false, offensive or irresponsible. As well as
responding to complaints they also monitor ads to check theyre following
the rules. They also conduct research to test the public's opinion and
identify where they need to take action, if any, to protect the consumers.
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

ASA have been administering the non-broadcasting Advertising code for

over 50 years and the broadcasting Advertising Code for over 10 years.

CAP represent the advertising industry, covering advertisers, media owners

and agencies. They also offer authoritative advice and guidance on how to
create campaigns that comply with the rules.

Non- Broadcasting Code

https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/advertising-codes/non-broadcast-
code.html
Broadcasting Code
https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/advertising-codes/broadcast-
code.html
Rulings
https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/rulings.html
Non-compliant online advertisers
https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/non-compliant-online-
advertisers.html
Sanctions
https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/sanctions.html

Everything on ASA and CAP found here \/

https://www.asa.org.uk/
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

http://www.clearcast.co.uk/
CLEARCAST are mainly known for clearing ads but they work with other
companies throughout the ad development process. Ad agencies,
advertisers and broadcasters use CLEARCAST services to conceptualise,
develop, produce and broadcast adverts. From providing inspiration and
ideas to the procedures and practical considerations of clearance they play
a key role in delivering unforgettable advertising with impact.

Their services consist of:

Clearance system
Where you can upload your own script and ads to their online system to
check and clear them for broadcast.
Flashing
If you're concerned that an advert might have flashing images you can run
it through their online system to see if it meets with Ofcoms requirement.
Supers
Make sure the small print on your ads meets the rules. Such as size and
content.
Caria
Access their centralised secure system for booking and managing TV ad
campaigns.
Attribution
The industrys way of getting hold of data to report on advertising reach and
impact.
International Copy Advice Database
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

If you're running ads in other countries you can understand how to meet
different ad regulations depending on the country you wish to release the
ad to.
UK & International Clearance
A range of services to get ads of all types cleared for broadcast.

http://www.clearcast.co.uk/what-we-do/

Unfair Trading Regulations (2008).

It came into force on the 26th May 2008. It is effectively the successor to
the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, which it largely revokes. It is designed to
implement the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, as part of the
common set of European minimum standards for consumer protection.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-protection-
from-unfair-trading-regulations-2008

https://www.out-law.com/page-9050

Every advert now is edited to make the product seem bigger and better
than it actually is.
Not all adverts tell the truth about what they sell. All companies want you to
buy their product and some companies allow returns and some dont. In the
company's eyes as long as the consumer buys their product thats all that
matters, they dont necessarily care if the consumer has a complaint
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

however, if that complaint is large enough the company will get sued and
companies dont want that because it means they have to use more money
for court and getting the right people. Also a company will try everything in
and out of the books to win a court case because if they win then they dont
have to pay a penny in compensation but the other party does. Despite this
a lot of companies still mislead their consumers whether it would be
accidental or on purpose to sell their product.
For example Tesco had some traces of horse meat in some of their
products and they did not display that the product contained horse meat.
The company claimed it was accidental and that they didnt know about
their products and have taken away the products that contained horse
meat.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/15/horsemeat-scandal-the-
essential-guide
https://www.slideshare.net/fishlily43/crisis-communication-case-study-
tesco-horse-meat-scandal

Every advert now is edited to make the product seem bigger and better
than it actually is.
Killing Us Softly 4 - Trailer [Featuring Jean Kilbourne]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKXit_3rpQ
In this video clip Jean is explaining that women are made into things and
made skinnier than they actually are. Some models even get too skinny for
their health and cant physically get skinnier so companies use photoshop
to make them skinnier. Companies use photoshop to make models and
adverts bigger and better than they actually are. All self explanatory in the
video clip above.

Subliminal means the mental process below the threshold of sensation or

understanding, by affecting someones mind without their knowledge.
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

For example during a 2007 episode of Iron Chef America the 24-hour
channel became a suspect in subliminal wrong-doing. Uniting into the
chief's showdown segment was a logo for McDonalds which flashed on the
screen for a brief moment. After the moment investigators accused the
company of burrowing even further into our impressionable brains,
McDonalds denied the claim, telling USA TODAY that we dont do
subliminal advertising. Food network declared the screenshot a technical
error which is most likely a lie and a cover up because that is not
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

This is subliminal messaging at its core subtle, but still clever. Pepsi
released the image on the left and Coca-Cola responded with the image on
the right. Pepsis original ad is subliminal in that it makes the viewer think and
chuckle a bit: its funny to suggest that getting a Coke when you wanted a
Pepsi is scary. Coca-Colas response is perfect, as well, and becomes a great
learning tool: sometimes, the tagline really does make the image.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-10-best-subliminal-ads-ever-made/
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ads-with-subliminal-
messages#sm.0000f9b2llfhgfiaxc01hfs8fl0sx
http://mentalfloss.com/article/67223/7-sneaky-subliminal-messages-hidden-
ads

Most if not all adverts contain subliminal messages and we dont even see
or notice it.
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind such as inventions,

literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, images and images
used in commerce.
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) was established by the
WIPO Convention in 1967. WIPO is a specialised agency of the United
Nations. It promotes the protection of IP throughout the world.
Copyright is the a right which where creators can protect their work such as
original literary dramatic, artistic work, writing, computer, programmes,
movies, games, dance, paintings, photographs etc are covered under
copyright laws.

IP is protected in law by, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable

people to earn a recognition or financial benefit for their
creations/inventions. IPs system aims to care an environment in which
creativity and innovation can grow.

Copyright comes under Intellectual Property (IP) as a subcategory.

If these IPs are broken or crossed serious and major consequences will
come to those who committed the act.

References:

https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/regulations-that-affect-
advertising

https://beautyredefined.org/photoshopping-altering-images-and-our-minds/

https://www.artinstitutes.edu/about/blog/picture-imperfect-digital-image-
manipulation-ethics
 7.2&3 - Legal, Ethical & Regulations - Nick Davies

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/subliminal-advertising-ethical-not-
60413.html

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/advertising-to-children-
tricky-business-subway

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2655351/The-art-deceptive-
advertising-From-brown-shoe-polish-burgers-hairspray-brighter-
ingredients-commercials-trick-buying-products.html

http://damenexample.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ethical-and-legal-constraints-
within.html

https://www.slideshare.net/Mattwattsmedia/legal-ethical-and-contractual-
constraints-in-the-media-industry-13456879

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/media/documents/legal_analysis.pd
f