Regulation and self-regulation of media. Research essay.

Regulation and self-regulation of media
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Introduction
By its nature, regulations limit freedom, which is very fundamental in Australia’s democratic society. Therefore, there has to be, at least, convincing and clear reasons for media regulation. Proponents of media regulation argue that it enhances people’s right to speech, right to information, and right to privacy. However, through certain regulation, the government has infringed on people’s privacy. On the other hand, proponents of self-regulation argue that the government cannot regulate the media on its own because of how fragmented it is in Australia. Indeed, although the media in Australia is made up of the internet, broadcast media, and print/online, there are numerous sub-sectors within the main sectors. As a result, despite lacking the adequacy needed to enforce policies, self-regulation is an attractive option because it enhances people’s right to information and drives up professional standards because it is undertaken by experts. Although there are numerous justifications for regulation and self-regulation that reconcile them with freedom and democracy, their limitations cannot be ignored. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of self-regulation and government regulation of the media with regards to the privacy and rights of media users in a diverse and fragmented media landscape.
Regulation vs. Self-Regulation
Australia is well-known globally when it comes to its regulation processes and assessments, which in turn become law. Regulation is the application of certain laws or rules in handling some issue affecting the general population, in which there is an expectation of compliance. Self-regulation is the opposite, where such authority are left to the individuals or private persons themselves to apply. It is no doubt that there has always been a back and forth when it comes to matters concerning privacy, especially on the internet. This back and forth has always pitted the citizens against the government, with each party striving so much to exert control over what happens on the internet and transactions therein. The media plays a crucial role in this struggle, as it is the mirror through which the harms and benefits of either side can be scrutinized.
Advantages of media regulation
* Regulation protects Australians freedom of speech and the right to accurate information
Freedom of speech is a universal human right. Although Australia does not have a statutory Act that spells out the right to expression, the high court has on numerous occasions indicated that such rights are implied in the constitution. The right to speech or expression consists of the right to request, receive, and convey ideas and information through any media without interference (Williams, 2014). As a result, media users can comment on political posts on social media without fear of persecution from the government or biased media houses. It is quite typical to find some malicious media houses jumping on a person’s random opinion on social media and running away with it to create sensational news which in most cases is usually in a negative light. Such is the case, especially for public fi...