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What is Media Laws?

What is the need for Media Laws?

How is Media Laws legally recognized in India?

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About the Media Laws

The different frameworks of Mass Media of this world are distinct as they are shaped by factors such as the polity, religion, culture, economy etc. Communist & societies following totalitarianism like the former USSR and China practised a very strict regulation and limitation on the extent of Media’s freedom, whereas, States like the USA followed a very liberal and non-restrictive attitude towards the Media.

There are several laws which are applicable in the topic of Media Laws. Some of them are:

Press Council Act 1978 – to uphold and improve the conditions of newspaper and news agencies in India, a body by the name of Press Council was established as per this Act.

Delivery of Books and Newspaper (Public Libraries) Act 1954 – publishers of newspapers and books were required to deliver free of charge a copy of every book to the National Library at Calcutta and one copy each to three other libraries specified by the Central Government.

The Newspaper (Prices and Pages) Act 1956- which was held incorrect by the case of Sakal Papers v. Union of India

Laws related to Intellectual Property

Code of Conduct of the News Broadcaster Association

Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act 1981 – this legislation provided protection to the employees in the industry by the imposition of certain obligations on motion picture producers and theatre owners.

Mass Media laws in India can be traced back to the time of British Rule. In 1799, Lord Wellesley enacted the Press Regulations as per which pre-censorship of the publishing industry came into effect.

In 1878, the ‘Vernacular Press Act 1878’ was passed as per which the government had the authority of clamping down on publications deemed seditious.

Freedom of Speech is one of the fundamental rights under the constitution and curbing this right without a reasonable restriction is a violation of constitutional principles.

In the case of ‘Sakal Papers v. Union of India’ a govt. order restraining the number of pages for a newspaper as held to be unconstitutional.