Privacy, defamation, data protection and regulation: R093 revision

The specification lists four things producers must think about when people appear in their work:

• Recording in public places. Filming or photographing in a public street is generally allowed, but people still expect privacy in some situations, such as through the window of their home, and using an identifiable person in a commercial product, such as an advert, needs their consent.
• Private property. Filming on private property, such as a shop, theme park or school, needs the owner's permission, often as a written location agreement, as well as the consent of the people filmed.
• Publishing and commercial use. Before an image of someone is published or used to sell something, the producer gets written consent, usually a signed model release form. For under-18s, a parent or guardian gives consent.
• Harassment and invasion of privacy. Following people, repeatedly contacting them, or filming them in private moments to get a story or a picture can break the law and always damages trust. Producers must stop when asked.

Defamation is making a false statement about a person or organisation that damages their reputation. Libel is defamation in a written or published, permanent form, such as an article, a post or a broadcast; slander is spoken. Truth is the producer's best protection, so facts are checked and claims about real people are backed by evidence before publication.

The specification asks about the impact of publishing inaccurate personal information. For the individual, it can mean a damaged reputation, distress, lost work or abuse from others. For the producer, it can mean being sued for damages, having to publish a correction and an apology, the product being withdrawn, and a lasting loss of trust in its work.

Media producers collect personal data all the time: names and emails for a newsletter, contact details of interviewees, survey answers, footage of identifiable people. The people the data is about (data subjects) have rights. They should be told what is collected and why, can see the data held about them, can have it corrected, and can ask for it to be deleted or for its use to stop.

To comply, producers collect only the data they need, have a lawful reason for collecting it (often the person's consent), use it only for the stated purpose, keep it accurate and secure, and delete it when it is no longer needed. In the UK the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) enforces data protection and can fine organisations that break the rules.

• ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) regulates the content of adverts across media, from posters and print to websites, social media and broadcast adverts. Adverts must not mislead, harm or seriously offend. The ASA can have an advert withdrawn or changed, and publishes its rulings, which damages the advertiser's reputation.
• Ofcom (the Office of Communications) regulates television, radio and on-demand video, and also communications services. Broadcasters must protect under-18s (for example the 9pm watershed for adult content on TV), be fair, avoid harmful or offensive material without context, and keep news accurate and impartial. Ofcom can fine broadcasters and, in serious cases, take away their licence to broadcast.

• BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) gives age certificates to films and videos: U (universal), PG (parental guidance), 12A (cinema: under-12s only with an adult), 12 (video and streaming), 15, 18 and R18 (restricted, sold only in licensed shops). Cinemas must not admit anyone under the age on a 15 or 18 certificate.
• PEGI (Pan European Game Information) rates video games 3, 7, 12, 16 or 18, with content descriptors such as violence, bad language, fear, gambling and in-game purchases. In the UK it is illegal to sell a PEGI 12, 16 or 18 game to someone under that age.

Ratings shape production. A studio that needs a 12A to reach families will tone down or cut violent scenes; a games company aiming at children will design for PEGI 3 or 7. Ratings also limit marketing, because adverts for an 18-rated product cannot be aimed at children.

On the four papers we analysed, legal considerations that protect individuals were worth up to 7 marks on one paper (June 2024, including a six-mark question on photographing people on private property), and regulation and classification 1 or 2 marks on most papers. Expect scenario questions about what consent is needed before filming or publishing, and recall questions about which body regulates what.

For how the long answers and pre-production documents are marked, see how R093 is marked.