Legal Constraints on International Journalists

Legal Constraints on International Journalists 

There are numerous restrictions given by law that disallows journalists to public or fabricate information regarding press coverage. The top five legal issues that are most relevant are defamation, privacy and accuracy, the use of public records, recording laws, responses to illegitimate takedowns, and fair use. 

Defamation - Privacy - Accuracy: 

In regards to information, assignments done by individual journalist’s best work usually reflects a light on the practices executed by more powerful journalists worldwide. The act of defamation and privacy violations should be investigated through a legal process that specializes in pre-publication reviews to ensure accuracy of project and decline the chances of any future disputes when shared. 

Access to Public Records:

Journalists must first be allowed access to public documents before they can use them; however, there are those who will take pieces of raw data and turn it to their advantage into prosecutable information if necessary. This process can be done in a legal manner with the assistance of an attorney, though if the legitimate request is not accepted, an attorney may turn to legal proceedings to obtain the necessary documents. 

Recording Laws:

There are laws that tell you what may be acceptable when audio or video recording someone in secret and are able to use the recording as well as the image of the person. In today’s society, multimedia regarding images, video clips, and audio are a preeminent source of information that also has legal restrictions based upon their creation and dissemination, which may become censorious to those who share it online. 

Illegitimate Takedowns:

Misleading content takedowns are falsely dependent on trademarks, copyright, and a multitude of offensive terms that are relevant to claims of violation. Oftentimes intermediary agents like apps and websites will takedown content to prevent liability. A user’s voice may be silenced by permanent termination of their account in addition to facing related lawsuits. In this case, an experienced attorney may be required to negotiate the user’s rights to recover the legitimate information. 

Fair Use:

Having a keen sense of what fair use is and how to exercise it effectively may allow individuals to better engage in dialogue regarding social, political, and cultural issues. This can act as a critical shield for protection against the copyright law, which leads to a more complex side. 

Qatar: Rights Abuses Stain FIFA World Cup 

The FIFA World Cup was held on November 20 through December 18 this year. It will be followed by years of critical labor for migrants and a series of abuses in human rights within Qatar. Human Rights Watch published what is known as a ‘Reporters’ Guide’ to aid as support to journalists who are covering the World Cup. The guide is extended to 42-pages long and includes summaries of concerns from Human Rights Watch that are relevant to Qatar’s assembly and hosting of this year’s FIFA World Cup, including broader issues relating with protecting human rights inside the country. FIFA has failed to inquire into the concerns around human rights for journalists, women, LGBT, and others affected in Qatar. 

Migrant Worker Rights 

Qatar lacks infrastructure for the Cup as millions of migrant workers are needed to not only build it but also service it. There is an estimated cost of over $200 billion dollars with the number of stadiums, an expansion of an airport, new subway system, myriad of hotels and other key infrastructure projects. 

Despite the warnings, FIFA has not succeeded to address better conditions for protecting their workers and has become a self-satisfied enabler to the general abuse suffered by workers, inclusive of the illegal fees of recruitment, theft of wages, numerous deaths and injuries as told by Human Rights Watch. 

Issued in May, Human Rights Watch along with other organizations representing human rights prevailed on FIFA and Qatari officials in a joint letter and campaign to stop the abuse that the workers are subjected to, including financial support to wage theft and injuries, as well as to the deceased’s families. 

Women's Rights 

Based on a report released last year, Qatari laws were documented by Human Rights Watch in regards to the regulation and practices that force prejudiced rules on male guardianship, denying women rights to make decisions based on their own personal lives. Women who live in Qatar must first obtain permission from their male guardian to marry, go to school, work government jobs, travel, and even receive health care regarding reproduction. Aside from this, women are also entitled to show proof of marriage with a marriage certificate in order to obtain reproductive health benefits, including checks for transmitted infections such as HIV, and limited access to emergency birth control. 

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People’s Rights

The penal code of Qatar also punishes consensual romantic relationships between men older than sixteen with at least seven years behind bars, providing related penalties to an addition of one and three years for a male individual who encourages or tempts another male to and I quote: commit an act of sodomy or immorality” (HWR). Same-sex relations between males, females, or homosexuals partners may receive a penalty up to ten years in jail if engaged in such behavior. 

Human Rights Watch published reports in October that followed the forces of the Qatar Preventive Security Department under the ministry of interior that had six Qatari LGBT activists detained and tortured from mistreatment, including brutal beatings and sexual harassment all while on detention. 

A requirement for their release was issued by security authorities, stating that transgender women who are held in custody must attend ‘spiritual rebirth’ therapy sessions at a center that specializes in behavioral healthcare sponsored by the government. LGBT individuals interviewed spoke on the mistreatment that began in September, even as the government suffered intense inspection before the World Cup in regards to its treatment of LGBT people.