ACMA rejects editorial opinions on asylum-seekers

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has issued a rare statement to reject “inaccurate” media reports about its recent Privacy Guidelines for Broadcasters.

“Some media outlets have claimed that the guidelines are imposing new privacy restrictions on the electronic media,” said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman. “This is simply not the case. The regulation of broadcasting content in Australia is largely set out in codes of practice developed by the television and radio industries themselves.

ACMA says the Guidelines are intended to assist licensees to comply with their own existing codes.

“The industry codes require broadcasters to take account of both the rights of individuals to privacy and the (ultimately overriding) public interest. Nothing has changed in this regard from the ACMA’s existing 2005 Privacy Guidelines. There is no new ‘media restriction;’ there are no new ‘media rules’.”

Media reports in News Limited newspapers have detailed the Department of Immigration and Citizenship lobbying for asylum-seekers to not be identified. Some reports have questioned whether the government has been looking to shield the issue from being personalised. News editors have branded it “censorship.”

“In fact, the guidelines make no specific mention of asylum seekers, as claimed, nor do they create a new protection, namely that of seclusion,” Chapman said.

There were 15 submissions to ACMA’s draft guidelines, one of which was from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. But ACMA denies it lacked appropriate independence from government.

Despite the focus on how the privacy guidelines will affect asylum-seekers, they are designed to cover much more than one issue or one group of people.

ACMA’s rare response to media commentary makes some valid points, but probably also indicates the politics is hurting.