Page 359 - Law and the Media
P. 359
Law and the Media
State governments cannot make private possession at home of obscene material, except
for child pornography, a crime because of the constitutional right to personal privacy.
However, the protection does not extend beyond a person’s home and he can be
convicted of offences relating to importation, distribution and exhibition of obscene
materials.
21.9.2 Racial discrimination
Due Process and Equal Protection
Grossly unreasonable discrimination by federal and state governments will violate the
Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution and the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Private persons are not subject to the Due Process Clause or the Equal Protection Clause
as they only apply to government action. However, Congress has passed laws under the
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Commerce Clause to prevent
discrimination by private persons.
Thirteenth Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution states that slavery shall not exist in the
United States. The Thirteenth Amendment applies to both government and private action
and gives Congress the power to pass laws that prohibit any ‘badge of slavery’, such as
school segregation and hiring on the basis of race.
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause of the Constitution allows Congress to legislate in respect of
commercial activities between the states that make up the union of the United States.
Because almost any action can be considered to be connected with commercial activity,
Congress has used the Commerce Clause to pass legislation preventing racial discrimina-
tion such as the Civil Rights Act 1964 which bans discrimination in public facilities and
public education and the Civil Rights Act 1991 which bans discrimination in federal and
private workplaces.
21.10 Freedom of information
The Freedom of Information Act 1966 provides that any person has the right to request
access to federal records or information.
Upon receipt of a written request, a federal government agency must disclose the
requested record to the applicant unless the record falls within one of the exceptions set
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