Regulatory Bodies

There are six main regulatory bodies i am going to talk about.
They are:

• British Board of Classification
• Advertising Standard Authority
• Press Complaints Commision
• Performing Rights Society
• Ofcom
• Mechanical Copywright Performance

British Board of Classification

The BBFC regulates movies and video games. This means that when films and video games are made the BBFC watch them and then decide whether the film is appropriate for certain ages. This is a photo of the certificates that were changed and released in 2002.

The BBFC have to consider many things such as
- Drugs
- Sex
- Horror
- Language
- Nudity
- Violence
they have to consider these to make sure that films are acceptable to show to the public and of the correct ages.
If you sell DVD's to underage people of the classification you can get up to 6 months imprisonment and fined £5000.
If you sell films with out having a classification, then is it illegal. The BBFC have to check every single film to see whether the film needs cutting down or whether bits need editing and re-shot to make it acceptable for people to watch. An example of this is 'A Serbian Film' it had to have 49 different cuts and 11 second cuts due to the reference to children in demeaning ways. However if the film is so bad the BBFC can refuse the film to be shown to public, this is then illegal to watch.
 The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent, non-governmental body, which decides on what content is acceptable to be shown for certain ratings in the cinema. It’s been set up since 1985.
The BBFC was set up in order to bring a degree of uniformity to those standards. The object was to create a body which could make judgements that were acceptable nationally. To this end the BBFC has needed to earn the trust of the local authorities, Parliament, the press and the public.

Advertising Standard Authority
The ASA is a self regulating body which monitor he distribution of advertisements across the U.K. They regulate every form of advertisement ranging from physical billboards to online advertisements on the internet.
The purpose of the ASA is to try to keep advertisements within the UK and to refrain advertisers from causing potention harm to the public. They take thousands of complaints a year for a range of reasons for potentially hamful material, obscene or offensive material and misleading information or false advertising.
History of the ASA:
- In 1961 with the launch of adverts on television between programmes, they had to be controlled by legislation. in 1961 it was decided that non-broadcaster could be trusted and so the committee of advertising practice.
- In 1962 the CAP set up the ASA to help regulate the newly created code for advertisements.
- From 2010 onwards the ASA are a massively known company. Due to the massive rise of the digital age the ASA now cover advertisements on videos on demand and online from websites to applications.
An example of the ASA being in control is the website for American Apparel. They had recieved many complaints due to the sexual content of girls modeling t-shirts and tights with out wearing any under layer. People then complained at the age of the young models and didn't think it was appropriate for women and men of all ages looking.
Another example is Apple. They had been involved in two massive things with the ASA. One is that they claimed to sell the worlds fastest computer, in 2004, its Power Mac G5 system was judged to be questionable. Also in 2008 they claimed that the new iPhone could access all of the internet, this was not true as the lack of major plug-ins such as flash, they recieved many complaints the advertisement was banned.

Press Complaints Commission 
The PCC is an organisation created to manage the press. They control a set of rules which the press must follow. The Press Complaints Commission was founded in 1995, with the first chairman Lord Wakeham.
The PCC deals with all editorially controlled content in the UK including newspapers and magazines and websites. This includes:
- Articles and pictures
- Words, audio, pictures and videos on websites from the newspapers and magazines.
They also deal with the physical behaviour of journalists, this includes:
- Persistent pursuit on other people, most likely celebrities.
- Not listening to requests from other people to stop taking photographs or intruding in their business.
- Failing to obtain the consent before speaking to children or people in hospital.
An example of this is the case between DJ's Michael Christian and Mel Grieg after doing a hoax phone call on the radio station to the hospital where Kate Middleton was very sick. They rang to try and get information, without realising they would get put through. They recieved detailed information about Kate Middleton and there was a huge scandle.
There are a set of rules editors need to follow called the 'Editors Code', these rules include taking care to not publish incorrect or misleading information. If they have inaccurate information which may be out of date and the information has been updated the reporters have to go back and update their information as out of date information is not allowed. Also, the editors need to make sure that what ever they write has to be fact and not an opinion.
Journalists also have rules to not engage in indimidation harrassment or persistent pursuit while trying to collect information from celebrities. They must also grant the celebrities wishes if they say to leave them alone or not to be photographed or video'd.
Editors must make sure these are observed by those working for them and make sure that they agree to the rules.

Performing Rights Society for music.
The performing rights society regulates copyrighted music, making sure that if music is played, the artist will get paid royalties. When playing music on the radio or TV, they must have a licence from the artist so they are legally allowed to play their music.
The PRS was founded in 1914 for collecting fees for live performances. In 1997, the PRS joined with the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society to form the MCPS-PRS Alliance. In 2009, they changed the nae to PRS For Music, which is what it is known for to this date.
In 2007 the PRS took a Scottish car servising company to courst as the employees were listening to the radio, allowing the music to be heard by any one. Also in 2008, they accused 11 police stations of failure to obtain permits to play music which has the consiquenses of an injuction and payment.
In 2008, the PRS began an injunction where public premises have to pay an annual licence to play the radio, depending on the size of the premises it depended on the price.

Ofcom
The office of communications is a government approved regulatory body that monitors all ethics and practises of the broadcasting, postal services and telecommunication industry. Ofcom was established in 2002 when they recieved full authority after its establishment from the communications act 2003.
Ofcom manage:
- Television
- Radio
- Telecommunications
- Wireless Communications
- Consumer Protection Law
The Complaints Procedure:
The complaints procedure can be made through their website ofcom.org.uk. If Ofcom decide that the source of media has breached the broadcasting code, they have to consider an invesitgation.
Depending on how bad the breaking of the rules are, Ofcom may decide to issue a statutory sanction against the broadcaster. They also have the ability to fine anybody in the court of law for not abiding by the Broadcasting Act 1990.




Monopoly
Monopoly is when a specific company have a hold over the majority of a particular market. This reduces the competition which means that smaller companies have a harder chance of succeeding in the world of media. An example of a 'monopoly' is Rupert Murdoch. He owns owns most of the worlds press and media, this means that there isn't as much room and is really hard for independent companies and other stake holders to make it big.
A monopoly has its advantages and disadvantages, a disadvantage is that if a company has a monopoly they won't be investing in other businesses which causes a massive effect on the market and can stop new companies coming into the new market. An advantage is that a monopoly can increase the revenue of a business which means they can invest in bigger things to make the company a lot better than others who don't make as much revenue.

Why is it important to ensure that not one single media producer in the UK has a monopoly?
This is extremely important to keep a range of business and producers owning different parts of the media because if one person owns everything they have monopoly, such as Rupert Merdoch.
Having one person owning everything is really bad for the media industry because of other businesses and entrepreneurs trying to make it into the media industry, it will also stop diversity and no new ideas or products will be coming in, which will stop competition between different styles of the media, such as newspapers.

Why is consumer choice important?
Consumer choice means giving customers their own choice in regards to how they purchase the products. This means that when buying a product from a company and having the option to purchase via the internet gives them choice and makes things more convenient for the customer depending on their situation. This also means that sales will increase because if people can't go out shopping they now have the option to order it digitally e.g. via phone, computer, iPad etc. Many companies can do this over there website, this creates competition between similar shops as many people can then purchase things online which creates diversity between different companies with different products.An example of this is 'Samsung' which started out as a trading company dealing with groceries, now it deals with phones, tv's, tablets, cameras and home devices. This gives choice between the company of what customers can but.

What is censorship?Censorship is the act of withholding information or a production from the general public. The British Board or Film Classification regulate censorship by creating a certificate for films depending on which age you are, this is so that just incase there are harmful and offensive footage for the younger age which shouldn't be seen. Another example through media is the Advertising Standards Authority who control the censorship of advertisements in the UK.

This is an example of the ASA banning an advertisement, this is Cillit Bangs advert with Barry Scott. This got banned because customers felt that the advertisement falsely exaggerated the capabilities of the product.

What are the arguments for and against Censorship?
The arguments for censorship is that ff Britain didn't have it then many harmful advertisements would be exposed to certain ages of the public that shouldn't be exposed to. This means that if certain advertisements of films with out the correct certificate can have a bad influence on the younger ages.
The arguments against censorship is that it can stop good advertisements being published due to the time it was released if there was something similar going on in the news, this then may restrict what the public see which they may enjoy, this is also with films aswell, if they need to be censored this may stop the public from seeing the most important part of the film.

Why should under 18's be subject to particular considerations by regulators?

Under 18's are extremely important in the regulations of media, because under 18's aren't classed as adults so they need to be protected for many things. This then brings in data protection and privacy due to not being an adult. They need to be protected within the media due to explicit things shown through films or advertisements.