Regulation and self-regulation of media. Research essay.
Task
An essay of 2000 words that answers one question from the following list of six options
Questions
1. “The digital creative economy depends on the belief that social media work is easy and potentially profitable” (Duffy and Wissinger, 2017). Evaluate this statement with reference to celebrity and influencers within the realities of the Australian digital media economy.
2. Facebook argues regulation of digital platforms in Australia would result in restricted access to online services. Why should such regulatory bodies as the ACCC and ACMA have authority over the Australian operations of international companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Netflix?
3. “Social media activism and innovation can be a double-edged sword, as Indigenous activists are exposed to racist discourse and traumatic content online and often experience direct threats of violence” (Carlson, Dreher, 2018). Discuss this statement with reference to media activism and the role of Australian regulatory bodies.
4. Australian laws and regulations that promote and support the production and distribution of Australian media content are archaic and ineffectual within a global media landscape. Discuss.
5. Regulation vs self-regulation. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both systems for the protection of rights and privacy of Australian media users in a diverse and fragmented media landscape?
6. Within a year of passage of the Federal Government’s media reform laws Channel Nine successfully launched a takeover bid for Fairfax Media, intensifying the concentration of media ownership in Australia even further. What are the arguments for further media reform to ensure greater diversity and plurality of voices in the Australian media landscape?
Regulation and self-regulation of media
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Introduction
By its nature, regulations limit freedom, which is very fundamental in Australia’s democratic society. Therefore, there has to be, at least, convincing and clear reasons for media regulation. Proponents of media regulation argue that it enhances people’s right to speech, right to information, and right to privacy. However, through certain regulation, the government has infringed on people’s privacy. On the other hand, proponents of self-regulation argue that the government cannot regulate the media on its own because of how fragmented it is in Australia. Indeed, although the media in Australia is made up of the internet, broadcast media, and print/online, there are numerous sub-sectors within the main sectors. As a result, despite lacking the adequacy needed to enforce policies, self-regulation is an attractive option because it enhances people’s right to information and drives up professional standards because it is undertaken by experts. Although there are numerous justifications for regulation and self-regulation that reconcile them with freedom and democracy, their limitations cannot be ignored. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of self-regulation and government regulation of the media with regards to the privacy and rights of media users in a diverse and fragmented media landscape.
Regulation vs. Self-Regulation
Australia is well-known globally when it comes to its regulation processes and assessments, which in turn become law. Regulation is the application of certain laws or rules in handling some issue affecting the general population, in which there is an expectation of compliance. Self-regulation is the opposite, where such authority are left to the individuals or private persons themselves to apply. It is no doubt that there has always been a back and forth when it comes to matters concerning privacy, especially on the internet. This back and forth has always pitted the citizens against the government, with each party striving so much to exert control over what happens on the internet and transactions therein. The media plays a crucial role in this struggle, as it is the mirror through which the harms and benefits of either side can be scrutinized.
Advantages of media regulation
* Regulation protects Australians freedom of speech and the right to accurate information
Freedom of speech is a universal human right. Although Australia does not have a statutory Act that spells out the right to expression, the high court has on numerous occasions indicated that such rights are implied in the constitution. The right to speech or expression consists of the right to request, receive, and convey ideas and information through any media without interference (Williams, 2014). As a result, media users can comment on political posts on social media without fear of persecution from the government or biased media houses. It is quite typical to find some malicious media houses jumping on a person’s random opinion on social media and running away with it to create sensational news which in most cases is usually in a negative light. Such is the case, especially for public figures. Shielding such persons from the carelessness of such media houses or individuals is an important component of granting citizens of Australia the right of expression.
Furthermore, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforce regulations that compel media houses to engage in responsible reporting. Although responsible reporting is a contentious issue, regulations ensure that media users at least receive accurate news. As opposed to general assumptions, accuracy in reporting does not mean that occasional mistakes are punished by regulations. In contrast, it means that media users receive news that is fair and free from any conflict of interest.
* Protection of the privacy of media users
Unlike news topics that come and go, data privacy remains an important issue for media users. In recent times, 65% of Australians learn about breaking news on social media platforms because major media houses such as ABC are using twitter and Facebook to disseminate news (Lee and Ma, 2018). In this regard, the Privacy Act, which establishes principles for the use and assembly of personal data, has been very instrumental in protecting the privacy of media users. The 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) that make up the Privacy Act do not burden public and private media organizations with inflexible policies. In contrast, they conduct assessments of privacy performances for both Australian Government agencies and media agencies that have a turnover of $3 million or more. The establishment of organizations that sell people’s data has necessitated the formulation of regulations that seek penalties in case of serious breaches of privacy by the various media agencies in the country.
Disadvantages of regulation
Regulations violate people’s privacy, which is contradicting because the government is supposed to protect people’s privacy. The Assistance and Access Act, which was formulated in 2018, allows security agencies to seek assistance from companies that provide communication services and devices. This bill allows security agencies to gather people’s data without their knowledge. As a result, people who depend on social media platforms to receive or comment on information are at risk of being surveyed by the government. On its part, the government indicated that the law was necessary because law enforcement agencies must have modern tools to protect the country. However, crime in Australia, across all categories in all jurisdictions has been trending down for decades, which invalidates the formulation of the Assistance and Access Act (Mann et al., 2020). Importantly, there is no guarantee that previous cases failed to proceed because the evidence was encrypted.
Advantages of self-regulation
* Enhances people’s right to information
Self-regulation protects the sovereignty of the med...