Notes

Media Law and Ethics Research Paper

Introduction:
In this paper two countries and their laws will be introduced, this paper will discuss the overviews of the laws. There will be a comparative argument of the media laws of those countries and it will be supported with evidence and studies. Recommendations will be introduced to show how these laws can be adjusted in offering relevant solutions to change them. The chosen countries are Great Britain and its English law will be chosen between all 3 laws, the second country is the United Arab Emirates.


The United Kingdom began as a united sovereign state in 1707. Great Britain generally began upon many wars and was united in the end. The United Kingdom’s English law is referred to the legal system in England and Wales, it’s the most common law and is known for it across the UK. The English law has its own legal doctrine different from civil law legal system since 1189. There is a good deal of censorship in the UK which includes any racial, harassment, terrorist speech and many other type of abusive words are censored in the UK.


The UAE is a country on Arab peninsula and was founded in the 2nd of December 1971. The United Arab Emirate’s law is influenced from mainly British laws but it’s also influenced from Islamic, French, Roman and Egyptian laws. The UAE’s law is not based on Sharia law but it’s inspired from it, whereas extreme punishments like flogging are replaced with jail time. Many Sharia laws are still applied in the UAE where some people in extreme cases have been stoned. Verbal abuse is considered a punishable offense in the UAE.

Law Overview:
The UK’s English law is the ‘’first’’ law and it’s the most common law in England and Wale. The UK censor’s media depending on its censorship laws and ethical laws. Sexual content is censored to a certain extent in the UK, any adult stores that sells adult magazine or any type of adult content must not have their goods on open display. Stage licensing is also a law in the UK and it states that any inappropriately sexual plays must be licensed by a government official (lord) also any type of plays that are blasphemous and contain foul language must be licensed.


The UAE’s laws are mostly inspired by other countries, the UAE’s law is based around Great Britain’s laws because in 1892 the sheikhdoms (before the UAE was united) and Great Britain had a treaty that the sheikhdoms would not enter any territory other than the UKs and they would not enter any relationships with any other country than the UK. The UAE’s media laws are different from other countries’. Posting online pictures of anyone without their permission can lead to a fine or jail time of that person sues you for breaching their privacy. Any sharing of someone’s personal life can lead to legal liability and that person can sue. Licensed internet providers can block any online content that break the laws and ethics of the country.


Comparative Argument:
The UAE’s and the UK’s laws are somewhat similar because the UAE’s law is influenced by Great Britain. The UAE’s laws are stricter than the UK’s laws. For example, in the UAE filming someone publicly or privately can lead to legal liability whereas in the UK it is legal to film anything or anyone that is in public property and in private property if given permission. Filming someone or photographing them consistently can lead to a legal definition of harassment and that person can sue. In the UAE adult websites are blocked and are illegal to visit whereas in the UK it is legal. There are many other legally binding issues that differ from the UAE and the UK.


Recommendations:
No law is perfect and there are always changes to be made to some laws to make them more appropriate for our times. In the UAE’s case I think that Sharia should be completely removed from our laws and we should introduce newer laws that are more appropriate for these times. For example, filming someone publicly should be legal in the UAE. The UK’s laws can be a little stricter towards stage licensing as it can limit freedom of speech. For example, have someone talk about whatever they want but limit the amount of people that want to hear by making stages in hungers so whoever chooses to hear it will hear it.

Conclusion:

All in all, the UAE’s laws are similar to Great Britain’s in ways and very different in other ways and some of it needs to change in order to evolve to the new world we live in. The UK’s laws in general have more freedom over the UAE’s laws both in the media and the ethical department. There are many changes that can be made to both of these countries laws. We have seen comparisons in this research paper but there are huge cultural differences between the compared countries and that means a country can’t simply change its laws and expect it’s people to be happy about it.








References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_United_Kingdom#United_Kingdom_Parliament
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_commercial_law
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_the_United_Kingdom#Laws_on_obscenity_and_sexual_content
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_system_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates#Homosexuality.2C_display_of_public_affection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates#The_British_era
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography_and_the_law
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/legalview/legal-risks-for-social-media-users-in-uae