Media

Whether it is social media, television or the internet as a whole, the rights people have with their internet footprint is a very exciting topic to investigate! If you know you are interested in this topic but are not sure where to start, take a look at some of our suggestions:

Example media dissertation topic 1:

Twitter: A right to be heard or a right to be prosecuted?

Under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 persons are prohibited from sending ‘a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character’. The Act has allowed in recent times the prosecution and charge of many so-called “internet trolls”. Such prosecutions have attracted custodial sentences, resulting in distasteful comments being jailable offences. In an age where the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates Article 10, the freedom of expression, into British law, it is concerning that a person’s right to be distasteful is not upheld. This dissertation considers whether given the implications that section 127 has on the freedom of speech in UK law do conform to Hall’s evocative description of freedom of speech: ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it’.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Geach, N. and Haralambous, N. (2009). ‘Regulating harassment: Is the law fit for the social networking age?’, The Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 73(3), pp. 241-257.
• Gillespie, A.A. (2012). ‘Twitter, jokes and the law’, The Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 76(5), pp. 364-369.
• Glanville, J. (ed.) (2011). Privacy is dead! Index on censorship, Vol. 40(2). London: SAGE.