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81-533: The India Defence League was a British pressure group founded in June 1933 dedicated to keeping India within the British Empire . It grew from the parliamentary India Defence Committee and was founded with the support of 10 Privy Councillors , 28 peers , 57 MPs , 2 former Governors and 3 former Lieutenant-Governors of Indian provinces and including members of the armed forces and the judiciary . Viscount Sumner

162-400: A certain way in the legislature. Access to this channel is generally restricted to groups with insider status such as large corporations and trade unions – groups with outsider status are unlikely to be able to meet with ministers or other members of the bureaucracy to discuss policy. What must be understood about groups exerting influence in the bureaucracy is; "the crucial relationship here [in

243-645: A child. In New York v. Ferber , 458 U.S. 747 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that child pornography need not be legally obscene in order to be outlawed. The Court ruled that in contrast to the types of images considered in Miller , images that depicted underlying harm to children need not appeal to "the prurient interest of the average person", portray sexual conduct in "a patently offensive manner", nor be considered holistically, in order to be proscribed. Another difference between U.S. constitutional law concerning obscenity and that governing child pornography

324-563: A community receives largely depends on the kind of narrative an advocacy group curates for them on social media. Obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin obscēnus , obscaenus , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral repugnance and outrage in expressions such as "obscene profits " and "the obscenity of war". As

405-474: A conviction for mailing and delivery of a newspaper called the Chicago Dispatch , containing "obscene, lewd, lascivious, and indecent materials", which was later upheld in several cases. One of these was "A Book Named John Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure " v. Attorney General of Com. of Massachusetts, " 383 U.S. 413 (1966) " wherein the book " Fanny Hill ", written by John Cleland c.  1760 ,

486-471: A defense witness in a court hearing. Although Cohen removed the jacket before entering the courtroom, he had been observed wearing it in the courthouse corridor by a court officer. When Cohen left the courtroom, the officer arrested him for disturbing the peace. Cohen defended his attire as being an expression of disapproval of the war in Vietnam. Nonetheless, he was convicted of "maliciously and willfully disturbing

567-445: A feeling of satisfaction from expressing a political value. Also, it would not matter if the interest group achieved their goal; these members would merely be able to say they helped out in the process of trying to obtain their goals, which is the expressive incentive that they got in the first place. The types of interest groups that rely on expressive benefits or incentives are environmental groups and groups who claim to be lobbying for

648-564: A fine. Criticism to the legislation have included: It is often used against people who expose their nude bodies in public environments that were not warranted a license to cater to the demographic interested in such practice (the first such place was the Praia do Abricó in Rio de Janeiro, in 1994), even if no sexual action took place, and it may include, for example, a double standard for the chest area of women and men in which only women are penalized. Such

729-614: A global structure such as Greenpeace were better able to adapt to globalisation. Greenpeace, for example, has offices in over 30 countries and has an income of $ 50 million annually. Groups such as these have secured the nature of their influence by gaining status as nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), many of which oversee the work of the UN and the EU from their permanent offices in America and Europe. Group pressure by supranational industries can be exerted in

810-563: A legal term, it usually refers to descriptions and depictions of people engaged in sexual and excretory activity. In the United States , issues of obscenity raise issues of limitations on the freedom of speech and of the press , which are otherwise protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution . Federal obscenity law in the U.S. is unusual in that there is no uniform national standard. Former Justice Potter Stewart of

891-470: A number of ways: "through direct lobbying by large corporations, national trade bodies and 'peak' associations such as the European Round Table of Industrialists ". There have been many significant advocacy groups throughout history, some of which could operated with dynamics that could better categorize them as social movements . Here are some notable advocacy groups operating in different parts of

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972-437: A patriotic organization. Advocacy groups exist in a wide variety of genres based upon their most pronounced activities. In most liberal democracies , advocacy groups tend to use the bureaucracy as the main channel of influence – because, in liberal democracies, this is where the decision-making power lies. The aim of advocacy groups here is to attempt to influence a member of the legislature to support their cause by voting

1053-453: A push to prosecute obscenity cases. Red Rose Stories, a site dedicated to text-only fantasy stories, became one of many sites targeted by the FBI for shutdown. The government alleged that Red Rose Stories contained depictions of child rape. The publisher pleaded guilty. Extreme pornographer Max Hardcore served 30 months of a 46-month prison sentence for obscenity. Many U.S. states have had bans on

1134-731: A result of group pressure, for example, the Labour Party in the UK was formed out of the new trade union movement which lobbied for the rights of workers. Advocacy groups also exert influence through channels that are separate from the government or the political structure such as the mass media and through public opinion campaigning. Advocacy groups will use methods such as protesting , petitioning and civil disobedience to attempt to exert influence in Liberal Democracies. Groups will generally use two distinct styles when attempting to manipulate

1215-486: A thing took place in the 2012 FEMEN protests in São Paulo. Various countries have different standings on the types of materials that they as legal bodies permit their citizens to have access to and disseminate among their local populations. The set of these countries' permissible content vary widely accordingly with some having extreme punishment up to and including execution for members who violate their restrictions, as in

1296-618: A variety of content involving pornography and violence. Section 163 of the Canadian Criminal Code provides the country's legal definition of "obscenity". Officially termed as "Offences Tending to Corrupt Morals", the Canadian prohibited class of articles that are to be legally included as "obscene things" is very broad, including text-only written material, pictures, models (including statues) records or "any other obscene thing". According to Section 163(8), if "a dominant characteristic of

1377-410: Is a record of child sexual abuse . Abuse of the child occurs during the sexual acts that are recorded in the production of child pornography, and several professors of psychology state that memories of the abuse are maintained as long as visual records exist, are accessed, and are "exploited perversely". Some countries also bans writings —that depict sexually explicit activities involving

1458-640: Is a reward for participation that is socially derived and created out of the act of association. Examples include "socializing congeniality, the sense of group membership and identification, the status resulting from membership, fun, conviviality , the maintenance of social distinctions , and so on. People who join an interest group because of expressive benefits likely joined to express an ideological or moral value that they believe in, such as free speech , civil rights , economic justice , or political equality . To obtain these types of benefits, members would simply pay dues, and donate their time or money to get

1539-457: Is composed of two articles, Art. 233 "Obscene Act", "to practice an obscene act in a public place, or open or exposed to the public", punished with arrest of 3 months to 1 year or a fine; and Art. 234 "Obscene Written Piece or Object", to do, import, export, purchase or have in one's property, to ends of trade, distribution or public display, any written, drew, painted, stamped or object piece of obscenity, punished with arrest of 6 months to 1 year or

1620-572: Is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt", stated in 1868 by Lord Justice Cockburn , in Regina v. Hicklin , now known as the Hicklin test . Stanley Kauffmann 's novel The Philanderer was published by Penguin Books in 1957 and was unsuccessfully prosecuted for obscenity. The Obscene Publications Act is famously vague, defining obscenity with reference to material that is likely to "deprave and corrupt". The 1959 act

1701-561: Is that the Supreme Court ruled in Stanley v. Georgia , 394 U.S. 557 (1969), that possession of obscene material could not be criminalized, while in Osborne v. Ohio , 495 U.S. 103 (1990), the high court ruled that possession of child pornography could be criminalized. The reason was that the motive for criminalizing child pornography possession was "to destroy a market for

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1782-675: The Marquis de Sade . Obscenity law has been criticized in the following areas: Obscenity laws remain enforceable under Miller despite these criticisms. Some states have passed laws mandating censorship in schools, universities, and libraries even if they are not receiving government aid that would require censorship in these institutions . These include Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Twenty more states were considering such legislation in 2001–2002. Child pornography refers to images or films (also known as child abuse images ); as such, visual child pornography

1863-568: The Supreme Court of the United States , in attempting to classify what material constituted exactly "what is obscene", famously wrote, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced ... [b]ut I know it when I see it ...." In the U.S., the 1973 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Miller v. California established a three-tiered test to determine what

1944-497: The banning of the slave trade in 1807. In the opinion of Eugene Black (1963), "...association made possible the extension of the politically effective public. Modern extra parliamentary political organization is a product of the late eighteenth century [and] the history of the age of reform cannot be written without it. From 1815, Britain after victory in the Napoleonic Wars entered a period of social upheaval characterised by

2025-433: The political process , while others have few or no such resources. Some have developed into important social, and political institutions or social movements . Some powerful advocacy groups have been accused of manipulating the democratic system for narrow commercial gain, and in some instances have been found guilty of corruption , fraud , bribery , influence peddling and other serious crimes . Some groups, generally

2106-486: The 19-year-old writer of a fictional sex story "The Forestwood Kids"; however, the case was dismissed in 1995. In February 2009, citing its Policy On The Classification Of Obscene Material , the CBSA banned two Lucas Entertainment films because they show the "ingestion of someone else's urine... with a sexual purpose". In 2016 Mark Marek, owner of bestgore.com , pleaded guilty to breaching obscenity legislation for posting

2187-714: The BBFC. If the BBFC refuses a certificate, a video is effectively banned for home viewing, but not necessarily in the cinema . Four films that were originally refused a certificate— The Exorcist , Straw Dogs , The Evil Dead , and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre —were granted a certificate in the late 1990s and have subsequently been screened on mainstream television . According to the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993, "publication may be age-restricted if it contains highly offensive language likely to cause serious harm". In New Zealand, screening of Deep Throat (1972)

2268-450: The Republic , the largest of all Union Army veterans' organizations, was the most powerful single-issue political lobby of the late nineteenth century, securing massive pensions for veterans and helping to elect five postwar presidents from its own membership. To its members, it was also a secret fraternal order, a source of local charity, a provider of entertainment in small municipalities, and

2349-660: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the word "fuck", although almost universally considered obscene when used to describe sexual intercourse, is speech-protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution when used to express a political belief. On 26 April 1968, Paul Robert Cohen, then 19 years old, donned a jacket bearing the words "Fuck the Draft" while visiting the Los Angeles Courthouse to testify as

2430-448: The UK prosecuted a man for writing a fictional sex story ( R v Walker ). In 2009, the crown prosecution service (CPS) dropped the case. During the 1960s and 1970s most Western countries legalised hardcore pornography . By the 1980s the UK was almost the only liberal democracy where the sale of hardcore pornography was still completely illegal, although ownership was not a criminal offence (except child pornography ). Home videotape

2511-651: The US, however, advocacy group influence is much more significant. For example, in 1954 the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) lobbied against the Topeka Board of education, arguing that segregation of education based on race was unconstitutional. As a result of group pressure from the NAACP, the supreme court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in education

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2592-610: The United States are using social media to interact with citizens every day. The study surveyed 53 groups, that were found to be using a variety of social media technologies to achieve organizational and political goals: As noted in the study, "while some groups raised doubts about social media's ability to overcome the limitations of weak ties and generational gaps , an overwhelming majority of groups see social media as essential to contemporary advocacy work and laud its democratizing function." Another 2012 study argued that advocacy groups use social media to reach audiences unrelated to

2673-591: The United States, the Civil Rights Movement gained much of its publicity through civil disobedience; African Americans would simply disobey the racist segregation laws to get the violent, racist reaction from the police and white Americans. This violence and racism was then broadcast all over the world, showing the world just how one sided the race 'war' in America actually was. Advocacy group influence has also manifested itself in supranational bodies that have arisen through globalisation . Groups that already had

2754-443: The acceptance of social media use by advocacy groups, populations not affiliated with media advocacy often question the benevolence of social media. Rather than exclusively fostering an atmosphere of camaraderie and universal understanding, social media can perpetuate power hierarchies . More specifically, social media can provide "a means of reproducing power and fulfilling group interest for those possessing excessive power... [having

2835-410: The aim of having their issues translated into policy such as the government encouraging alternative energy and recycling . The judicial branch of government can also be used by advocacy groups to exert influence. In states where legislation cannot be challenged by the courts, like the UK, advocacy groups are limited in the amount of influence they have. In states that have codified constitutions, like

2916-399: The assembly by lobbying. Groups with greater economic resources at their disposal can employ professional lobbyists to try and exert influence in the assembly. An example of such a group is the environmentalist group Greenpeace ; Greenpeace (an organisation with income upward of $ 50,000,000) use lobbying to gain political support for their campaigns. They raise issues about the environment with

2997-400: The authorities tried to prevent the illegal sale of pornography they found that juries , while not particularly liking the material, were reluctant to convict defendants where the material was intended for private use among consenting adults. During the 1990s the advent of the internet made it easier than ever before for British citizens to access hardcore material. Finally, in 2000, following

3078-459: The bureaucracy] is usually that between the senior bureaucrats and leading business or industrial interests". This supports the view that groups with greater financial resources at their disposal will generally be better able to influence the decision-making process of government. The advantages that large businesses have is mainly due to the fact that they are key producers within their countries economy and, therefore, their interests are important to

3159-590: The case of Iran where the current laws against pornography now include death sentences for those convicted of producing pornography. In India the Obscenity law is the same as had been framed by the British Government. Charges of obscenity have been levelled against various writers and poets till date; the law has not yet been revised. The famous trials relate to the Hungryalists who were arrested and prosecuted in

3240-526: The communities they help and to mobilize diverse groups of people. Mobilization is achieved in four ways: "1). Social media help connect individuals to advocacy groups and thus can strengthen outreach efforts. 2). Social media help promote engagement as they enable engaging feedback loops. 3). Social media strengthen collective action efforts through an increased speed of communication. 4). Social media are cost-effective tools that enable advocacy organizations to do more for less." While these studies show

3321-533: The courthouse was not speech but conduct amounting to an "absurd and immature antic". Standards superseded by the Miller Test include: FCC rules and federal law govern obscenity in broadcast media. Many historically important works have been described as obscene or prosecuted under obscenity laws, including the works of Charles Baudelaire , Lenny Bruce , William S. Burroughs , Allen Ginsberg , James Joyce , D. H. Lawrence , Henry Miller , Samuel Beckett , and

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3402-560: The dismissal of a test case brought by the BBFC , hardcore pornography was effectively legalised, subject to certain conditions and licensing restrictions. It is still an offence to sell obscene material by mail order . After 1984, videotape sellers were more likely to be prosecuted under the Video Recordings Act rather than the OPA. The VRA requires that all videos must have a certificate from

3483-569: The end of the Seven Years' War . Charged with seditious libel , Wilkes was arrested after the issue of a general warrant , a move that Wilkes denounced as unlawful – the Lord Chief Justice eventually ruled in Wilkes favour. As a result of this episode, Wilkes became a figurehead to the growing movement for popular sovereignty among the middle classes – people began chanting, "Wilkes and Liberty" in

3564-429: The end of the 1990s the emergence of a new global social movement, the anti-globalization movement . Some social movement scholars posit that with the rapid pace of globalization, the potential for the emergence of new type of social movement is latent—they make the analogy to national movements of the past to describe what has been termed a global citizens movement . According to Stuart McConnell: The Grand Army of

3645-599: The exploitative use of children" rather than to prevent the material from poisoning the minds of its viewers. The three dissenting justices in that case argued, "While the sexual exploitation of children is undoubtedly a serious problem, Ohio may employ other weapons to combat it." This is most notably shown with the "X" rating under which some films are categorized. The most notable films given an "X" rating were Deep Throat (1972) and The Devil in Miss Jones (1973). These films show explicit, non-simulated, penetrative sex that

3726-438: The general goal of improving farming for every farmer, even those who are not members of that particular interest group. Thus, there is no real incentive to join an interest group and pay dues if the farmer will receive that benefit anyway. For another example, every individual in the world would benefit from a cleaner environment, but environmental protection interest groups do not receive monetary help from every individual in

3807-487: The government as their contributions are important to the economy. According to George Monbiot , the influence of big business has been strengthened by "the greater ease with which corporations can relocate production and investment in a global economy ". This suggests that in the ever modernising world, big business has an increasing role in influencing the bureaucracy and in turn, the decision-making process of government. Advocacy groups can also exert influence through

3888-463: The growing maturity of the use of social movements and special-interest associations. Chartism was the first mass movement of the growing working-class in the world. It campaigned for political reform between 1838 and 1848 with the People's Charter of 1838 as its manifesto – this called for universal suffrage and the implementation of the secret ballot , amongst other things. The term "social movements"

3969-620: The interests of businesses. For example, George W. Bush 's re-election campaign in 2004 was the most expensive in American history and was financed mainly by large corporations and industrial interests that the Bush administration represented in government. Conversely, left-wing parties are often funded by organised labour – when the British Labour Party was formed, it was largely funded by trade unions. Often, political parties are actually formed as

4050-625: The late 19th century are seen as the prototypical social movements, leading to the formation of communist and social democratic parties and organisations. These tendencies were seen in poorer countries as pressure for reform continued, for example in Russia with the Russian Revolution of 1905 and of 1917 , resulting in the collapse of the Czarist regime around the end of the First World War . In

4131-468: The media – they will either put across their outsider status and use their inability to access the other channels of influence to gain sympathy or they may put across a more ideological agenda. Traditionally, a prime example of such a group were the trade-unions who were the so-called "industrial" muscle. Trade-unions would campaign in the forms of industrial action and marches for workers rights, these gained much media attention and sympathy for their cause. In

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4212-406: The mid-18th century, including political representation , market capitalization , and proletarianization . The first mass social movement catalyzed around the controversial political figure, John Wilkes . As editor of the paper The North Briton , Wilkes vigorously attacked the new administration of Lord Bute and the peace terms that the new government accepted at the 1763 Treaty of Paris at

4293-405: The movement was careful not to cross the line into open rebellion – it tried to rectify the faults in governance through appeals to existing legal precedents and was conceived of as an extra-Parliamentary form of agitation to arrive at a consensual and constitutional arrangement. The force and influence of this social advocacy movement on the streets of London compelled the authorities to concede to

4374-486: The movement's demands. Wilkes was returned to Parliament, general warrants were declared as unconstitutional and press freedom was extended to the coverage of Parliamentary debates . Another important advocacy group that emerged in the late 18th century was the British abolitionist movement against slavery . Starting with an organised sugar boycott in 1791, it led the second great petition drive of 1806, which brought about

4455-675: The northern English city of Leeds . Parts of the Act were repealed shortly after the Paraskos trial and it has rarely been used since in relation to visual art. Sex crime has generated particular concern. In 1976 the BBFC said that, in that year, it had viewed 58 films depicting "explicit rape", declaring scenes that glorified it as "obscene". As opposed to questions of "indecency", which have been applied to sexual explicitness, films charged with being obscene have been viewed as having "a tendency to deprave and corrupt" and been liable to prosecution. In 2008,

4536-471: The ones with less financial resources, may use direct action and civil disobedience , and in some cases are accused of being a threat to the social order or ' domestic extremists '. Research is beginning to explore how advocacy groups use social media to facilitate civic engagement, and collective action. The early growth of pressure groups was connected to broad economic and political changes in England in

4617-452: The peace" and sentenced to 30 days in jail. The conviction was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court of California but reversed by the Supreme Court. In a 5–4 decision, Justice Harlan wrote for the Court that Cohen's conviction was based solely on speech and was protected by the First Amendment. 403 U.S. at 26. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Blackmun countered that Cohen's wearing of the jacket in

4698-461: The post-war period, women's rights , gay rights , peace , civil rights , anti-nuclear and environmental movements emerged, often dubbed the New Social Movements , some of which may be considered " general interest groups" as opposed to special interest groups. They led, among other things, to the formation of green parties and organisations influenced by the new left . Some find in

4779-428: The potential to] indirectly reinforce elitist domination." By excluding those without access to the internet, social media inherently misrepresents populations- particularly the populations in low-income countries . Since media advocacy groups use social media as a way to boost the narratives of these populations, the effect of social media use can be counteractive to well-intentioned goals. Instead of directly amplifying

4860-698: The public in the United States; the ratings are issued through the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA). The intent of the rating system is to provide information about the content of motion pictures so parents can determine whether an individual motion picture is suitable for viewing by their children. Obscenity law in England and Wales is currently governed by the Obscene Publications Act , but obscenity law dates back much further into English common law . The conviction in 1727 of Edmund Curll for

4941-834: The public interest. Some public policy interests are not recognized or addressed by a group at all. These interests are labeled latent interests. Much work has been undertaken by academics attempting to categorize how advocacy groups operate, particularly in relation to governmental policy creation. The field is dominated by numerous and diverse schools of thought: There are three broad perspectives on how special interest groups achieve influence: through quid pro quo exchange, information transmission, and subsidizing policymaking. Apart from lobbying and other methods of asserting political presence, advocacy groups use social media to attract attention towards their particular cause. A study published in early 2012 suggests that advocacy groups of varying political and ideological orientations operating in

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5022-607: The publication is the undue exploitation of sex, or the combination of sex and at least one of crime, horror, cruelty or violence", that publication is deemed to be "obscene" under the current law. The current law states: 163. (1) Every person commits an offence who makes, prints, publishes, distributes, circulates or has in their possession for the purpose of publication, distribution or circulation any obscene written matter, picture, model, phonograph record or any other obscene thing. The Canada Border Services Agency seizes items it labels obscene. In 1993, Canadian police arrested

5103-582: The publication of Venus in the Cloister or the Nun in her Smock under the common-law offence of disturbing the peace appears to be the first conviction for obscenity in the United Kingdom, and set a legal precedent for other convictions. These common-law ideas of obscenity formed the original basis of obscenity law in other common law countries, such as the United States. The classic definition of criminal obscenity

5184-607: The right to sit in Parliament, Wilkes became an Alderman of London in 1769, and an activist group called the Society for the Supporters of the Bill of Rights began aggressively promoting his policies. This was the first ever sustained social advocacy group – it involved public meetings, demonstrations, the distribution of pamphlets on an unprecedented scale and the mass petition march. However,

5265-531: The sale of sex toys , regulating them as obscene devices. Some states have seen their sex toy bans ruled unconstitutional in the courts. That ruling leaves only Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia with current bans on the sale of obscene devices. Literature (non-fiction) communicating contraceptive information was prohibited by several states. The last such prohibition, in Connecticut, was overturned judicially in 1965. In Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971),

5346-504: The streets. After a later period of exile, brought about by further charges of libel and obscenity , Wilkes stood for the Parliamentary seat at Middlesex , where most of his support was located. When Wilkes was imprisoned in the King's Bench Prison on 10 May 1768, a mass movement of support emerged, with large demonstrations in the streets under the slogan "No liberty, no King." Stripped of

5427-581: The video of the murder of Jun Lin . He received a six-month non-custodial sentence in a plea agreement, and left court after sentencing with his mouth covered in duct tape to protest his prosecution. Ever since 1940, in the Title VI of the Penal Code, naming crimes against sexual dignity (until 2009 crimes against social conventions), the fourth chapter is dedicated to a crime named "public outrage related to modesty" ( Portuguese : ultraje público ao pudor ). It

5508-399: The voices and narratives of historically marginalized populations , social media magnifies their concerns through the perspective of individuals with access to the internet. Since advocacy groups have the agency to control a community's narrative through a social media post, they have the agency to control the deservedness of a community as well. That is, the amount of resources or attention

5589-578: The work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. While most recent (2016) obscenity cases in the U.S. have revolved around images and films, the first obscenity cases dealt with textual works. The classification of "obscene" and thus illegal for production and distribution has been judged on printed text-only stories starting with Dunlop v. U.S. , 165 U.S. 486 (1897), which upheld

5670-489: The world. This poses a problem for interest groups, which require dues from their members and contributions in order to accomplish the groups' agendas. Selective benefits are material, rather than monetary benefits conferred on group members. For instance, an interest group could give members free or discounted travel, meals, or periodical subscriptions. Many trade and professional interest groups tend to give these types of benefits to their members. A solidarity incentive

5751-516: The world: On some controversial issues there are a number of competing advocacy groups, sometimes with very different resources available to them: A general theory is that individuals must be enticed with some type of benefit to join an interest group. However, the free rider problem addresses the difficulty of obtaining members of a particular interest group when the benefits are already reaped without membership. For instance, an interest group dedicated to improving farming standards will fight for

5832-432: Was a booming market and it was relatively simple for individuals to smuggle hardcore material in from Europe or the United States, where it could be purchased legally, either for personal use or to copy it for distribution. This resulted in a considerable black market of poor quality videotapes. Meanwhile, people attempting to buy pornography legally would often be sold heavily censored R18 certificate material. While

5913-542: Was abandoned amidst derision from academics and the media . For visual works of art the main obscenity law in England and Wales was, until the 1960s, the Vagrancy Act 1838 which was successfully used in prosecutions against D.H. Lawrence for an exhibition of his paintings at the Warren Gallery, London, in 1929, and in 1966 against the British artist Stass Paraskos for an exhibition of his paintings held that year in

5994-440: Was indeed unconstitutional and such practices were banned. This is a novel example of how advocacy groups can exert influence in the judicial branch of government. Advocacy groups can also exert influence on political parties. The main way groups do this is through campaign finance. For instance; in the UK, the conservative parties campaigns are often funded by large corporations, as many of the conservative parties campaigns reflect

6075-537: Was introduced in 1848 by the German Sociologist Lorenz von Stein in his book Socialist and Communist Movements since the Third French Revolution (1848) in which he introduced the term "social movement" into scholarly discussions – actually depicting in this way political movements fighting for the social rights understood as welfare rights . The labor movement and socialist movement of

6156-947: Was its Honorary President, with Lord Carson , Rudyard Kipling , Winston Churchill , Sir Henry Page-Croft , the Marquess of Hartington , and Viscount FitzAlan holding the Vice-Presidencies. It eventually had over 100 peers as members. The IDL also helped Admiral Keyes win the Portsmouth North by-election in 1934. Pressure group Motives for action may be based on political , economic , religious , moral , commercial or common good -based positions. Groups use varied methods to try to achieve their aims, including lobbying , media campaigns, awareness raising publicity stunts , polls , research , and policy briefings. Some groups are supported or backed by powerful business or political interests and exert considerable influence on

6237-496: Was judged to be obscene in a proceeding that put the book itself on trial rather than its publisher. Another was Kaplan v. California , 413 U.S. 115 (1973) whereby the court most famously determined that "Obscene material in book form is not entitled to any First Amendment protection merely because it has no pictorial content." In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice formed the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force in

6318-403: Was obscene—and thus not protected, versus what was merely erotic and thus protected by the First Amendment . Delivering the opinion of the court, Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote: The basic guidelines for the trier of fact must be: (a) whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, (b) whether

6399-681: Was only cleared in 1986. However, the film has not been screened because the only cinema that has tried to organize a screening was thwarted by the city council that owned the building's lease. Section 9 of the Criminal Law provide provisions against pornography , including creation, distribution and organizing public viewing. In 2016, the Ministry of Culture in China censored 23 companies for hosting obscene content online. The take-down included over 20,000 live feeds from 26 different websites that were hosting

6480-483: Was passed at the point when most Western countries were about to enter a new phase of sexual freedom . The trial of Penguin Books over their publication of Lady Chatterley's Lover in 1960 failed to secure a conviction and the conviction in the 1971 trial of Oz magazine was overturned on appeal. An attempt to prosecute the University of Central England in 1997 over a copy of a library book by Robert Mapplethorpe

6561-691: Was presented as part of a reasonable plot with respectable production values. Some state authorities issued injunctions against such films to protect "local community standards"; in New York, the print of Deep Throat was seized mid-run, and the film's exhibitors were found guilty of promoting obscenity. According to the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated , films that include gay sex (even if implied) or female pleasure have been more harshly censored than their heterosexual, male counterparts. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) issues ratings for motion pictures exhibited and distributed commercially to

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