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Section 179 Effectiveness of the media's dispute resolution proceduresI1

(1)

The Secretary of State must, before the end of each review period, lay before Parliament a report produced by the Secretary of State or an appropriate person on—

(a)

the use of relevant alternative dispute resolution procedures, during that period, in cases involving a failure, or alleged failure, by a relevant media organisation to comply with the data protection legislation, and

(b)

the effectiveness of those procedures in such cases.

(2)

In this section—

  • “appropriate person” means a person who the Secretary of State considers has appropriate experience and skills to produce a report described in subsection (1);

  • “relevant alternative dispute resolution procedures” means alternative dispute resolution procedures provided by persons who produce or enforce codes of practice for relevant media organisations;

  • “relevant media organisation” means a body or other organisation whose activities consist of or include journalism, other than a broadcaster;

  • “review period” means—

    1. (a)

      the period of 3 years beginning when this Act is passed, and

    2. (b)

      each subsequent period of 3 years.

(3)

The Secretary of State must send a copy of the report to—

(a)

the Scottish Ministers,

(b)

the Welsh Ministers, and

(c)

the Executive Office in Northern Ireland.

Annotations

Commencement

I1

S. 179 in force at 23.7.2018, see s. 212(3)(e)

Notes on Part 6

Modifications

C1

Pt. 6 applied in part (with modifications) by S.I. 2016/696, Sch. 2 (as substituted (25.5.2018) by Data Protection Act 2018 (c. 12), s. 212(1), Sch. 19 para. 406 (with ss. 117, 209, 210); S.I. 2018/625, reg. 2(1)(g) (with reg. 4); and as amended (5.2.2026) by Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), ss. 105, 142(1); S.I. 2026/82, reg. 2(u); and (30.9.2026) by S.I. 2026/386, reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 19(3)(c); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c))

C2

Pts. 5-7 applied in part (with modifications) (5.2.2026) by S.I. 2003/2426, reg. 31, Sch. 1 (as substituted by Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), ss. 115(5)(8), 142(1), Sch. 13; S.I. 2026/82, reg. 2(y)(z14) (with regs. 8-11) and as amended (30.9.2026) by S.I. 2026/386, reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 6(3), (4)(j); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c))