The suppression of certain illegal content on the media

Abstract

Maltese Law offers a plethora of primary and subsidiary legislation as well as regulations and requirements that cater for the protection of society from illegalities in which the media may engage. The dispersion of these laws is very evident and renders compliance with all the various legislation very difficult and cumbersome for all media producers alike. This thesis aims to compile the range of legislation and examples of relatively recent case-law and Broadcasting Authority charges that are relevant to the issues examined in the thesis itself. Furthermore it seeks to criticise and identify the areas that need improvement. Through this analysis, the thesis also aims to serve the scope of an anthology of guidelines, surrounding issues which are prominently debated and used on all media. To this effect, the thesis deals with the issue of privacy and the extent to which the media is obliged to respect this right, for it to also maintain its right to freedom of expression and to satisfy the general public's right to be informed. It further explores the several scattered pieces of legislation regulating advertising content and technical but essential details such as time-frames, length and other restrictions. It also discusses the protection of the people who are most likely to be affected or influenced by the media, whether due to the way it treats them or the manner in which they are portrayed. Furthermore, this thesis examines the media's attitude towards racism and the way the laws and the courts seek to control and neutralise that attitude. The concluding chapter discusses the outcomes elicited from each chapter as well as makes a number of recommendations for a more efficient regulation of the media.