Section 179 | Effectiveness of the media's dispute resolution procedures

(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—

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

(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.