The Pros and Cons of Laws Against Defamation

1. Data protection: - do not disclose information unless told that it is permitted, it is a criminal offence to breach this law.

Data Protection Act 1998 – gives individuals the right to know what information is held about them, and those that processes personal information must comply with eight principles, which makes sure that personal information is fairly and lawfully processed; processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate and up to date; not kept for longer than is necessary; processed in line with your rights; secure; not transferred to other countries without adequate protection;

2 The Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) is the law that explains the professional, ethical obligations related to privacy and confidentiality,

Another piece of legislation that can affect the management of confidential information is the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Anyone is allowed to request information that has been recorded by any public-sector organisation, for example:

Matters related to confidentiality and disclosures are legal issues, both adult and children have the right to confidentiality, in some situations it is not possible to maintain it. In some circumstances confidentiality has to be broken, if there is a concern of an individual wellbeing or aware of a crime, that must be reported to the necessary authority. A normal code of conduct process must be abided by when breaking confidentiality.

The common law jurisdiction in the UK did not hold the rights of an individual 's privacy highly against the public interest of free expression. UK had a tragic lesson learnt with the death of Princess Diana from chasing paparazzi and in 1998 the United Kingdom passed its Human Rights Act which included a right to privacy. Yet many Judges decisions still use the words of breach of confidence.

Information Commissioner’s Office (2012) Introduction to The Data Protection Act 1998. [Online] Available from: http://www.ico.org.uk/~/media/documents/library/Corporate/Research_and_reports/ico_presentation_EVOC_20120528.ashx [Accessed: 11th October 2013]

What does freedom of expression really mean? Why is it important to our democratic society? In the landmark case of R. v. Keegstra (1990), the issues of freedom of expression

Under the Data protection Act 1998 any organisation which holds confidential information on individuals should be registered with the Information Commissioner. This safeguards personal information and prevents it for being passed onto to another organisation without permission from the individual. There are eight principles which restrict the use of personal information, they state that the information must be:

| |The data protection act gives individuals the right to see the information recorded about them and | |

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. It reinforces all other human rights, allowing society to develop and progress. The ability to express our opinion and speak freely is essential to bring about change in society.” Freedom of Speech grants you the right and privilege to speak your mind without facing any type of consequence . I strongly believe that censorship and the lack of free speech can and will cause a negative effect on our world.

The Freedom of information Act 2000 gives people the right to access recorded information for public sector organisations. The Act determines that it would be reasonable for the company to disclose policies surrounding HRM and certain types of data such as numbers of employees, diversity information, the pay of some employees (very senior staff), pay bands and details of expenses. Some personal information may be released providing it does not breach data protection laws

b) Freedom of Information Act (2000) – FOI ‘provides public access to information held by public authorities. It does this in two ways: public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities; and members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.’ (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-information/what-is-the-foi-act/)

     Due to the impact defamation has on certain groups of people the Anti-Defamation Leauge (ADL) has been established. It is an American organization set up to fight

The freedom to be able to express your own opinion is an ideology that is supported by many, however the act of promoting harm or hate is where freedom should be restricted. Freedom of speech is a right for citizens of many countries, but these citizens may agree or disagree on what is allowed to be expressed. Many people share the belief that they can say anything they want because their freedom entitles them to express any opinion they would like. In contrast, many people believe that you shouldn’t be able to say anything you want and that there should be restrictions on the type of things that you can say. In the novel On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, Mill argues that freedom of speech should be limited if and when it is harming other people in the process. Mill explains this argument by stating that silencing an unpopular opinion is unjustifiable because in order to successfully express your opinion, you must listen to the criticism. I agree with Mill’s position regarding freedom of speech based on the fact that he doesn’t support hate speech, and that there should be reasonable limits on freedom of speech in order to have an ideal democratic society. This essay will outline the justifications for Mill’s argument surrounding freedom of speech, the limitations that Mill believes should be set on freedom of speech as well as the assumptions that his argument depends on, and finally my personal viewpoint on Mill’s argument. Freedom of speech is a right that should be guaranteed to every citizen around the world, however when this speech negatively affects or harms other humans in the process, it is thereby considered hate speech which must be condemned.