Legal Explanation of Scope of News Media Responsibility and Compensation in COVID-19

Objective
Considering the millions of deaths caused by COVID-19, a global question has been raised addressing the feasibility or non-feasibility of the civil responsibility of news media for communicable diseases. It is argued that media, in its conventional form, can use its authority and means to accurately disseminate information on time in order to remarkably reduce the incidence of contagious diseases; however, in case of negligence and default on duty, media has to assume the responsibility of the damages done to the victims. The Iranian and international legal systems abound in legal, yet equivocal, documents that explain the responsibility of news media for communicable diseases. It is essential to shed light on the goals of news media civil responsibility toward communicable diseases on the basis of legal foundations.
 
Purpose
Civil liability both against the victim, the cause of the loss the society, has specific goals and functions, which this article identifies the boundaries of civil liability in the form of paying damages, removing the violation of the claimant's rights and preventing It analyzes the existing bases of damage to him in the future.
 
 
 
Research Methodology
The current research is a descriptive-analytical research study that describes the topics by using comparative study methods and using written, oral, electronic documents, legal studies, then collects and categorizes the findings.
 
Theoretical Framework
The three conditions for the fulfillment of civil liability are: 1. the damage caused to the claimant, 2. the fault of the person causing the damage. (Responsibility based on fault). 3. causal relationship the theory of compensation for losses is in the light of rules such as the rule of caution, the rule of pride, etc., which is used for the causal relationship between the harmful act and the occurrence of damage.
 
Findings
The only way to respond to and tackle the problems regarding civil responsibility is to stick to the combined deterrence system, which is an effective strategy to highlight the cause of damage in preventing and compensating the damages caused to the victims. This paper seeks to examine the causality establishment and the scope of civil responsibility of news media regarding communicable diseases. It also covers the common basics of civil responsibility in relation to contagious diseases and proves that the traditional basics and foundations fail to explain such responsibility efficiently; as a result, it is necessary to obligate news media on the basis of philosophical fundaments and the development/evolution of civil responsibility rules to find novel solutions to prevent contagion, reduce the incidence of communicable diseases, and redress the damages done.
 
Discussion & Conclusion
In this research, the fault caused by the mismanagement of the media in connection with the covid-19 disease has been discussed and investigated, and the cause of the damage must be compensated, one of which is the restoration of the previous situation, and this method is superior to other methods. has a preference. This study is carried out taking into account the principles, basics, and restrictions of civil responsibility authorities. Afterward, it is proved that, in the current situation, the assumption of civil responsibility by the media is the only viable solution for the preventive management of communicable diseases and compensation for the damages.
The results of the research show that the relationship of causation is the basic and vital element of civil liability and compulsory guarantee. In the explanation of this relationship, there must be a relationship between the harm caused and the fault of the mystics, in such a way that if it was not the fault (act and omission), then definitely no harm would have occurred. In addition to creating responsibility, the relationship of causation also determines the scope of responsibility.
Establishing the relationship of causation, in the case that one cause causes damage, is easy, but considering that social events are related to each other and usually there is more than one cause and cause of damage, therefore determining the person responsible and verifying the relationship of causation is difficult. The difficulty of ascertaining the relationship of causation in the multiplicity of causes has led to the presentation of theories on the part of the experts that we can see the impact of these theories in the laws of Iran, and the most important of them is the theory of conventional and original cause.
After proving the relationship of causation by the claimant, the defendant can prove that this relationship is apparent and that the damage was caused by external causes, that these external causes can be unexpected events, the fault of a third party, or the fault of the victim. Considering that the civil liability depends on establishing the relationship of causation and the relationship of causation is the vital element of compulsory guarantee and non-contractual civil liability, it would have been better for the Iranian legislators to set up regulations in this regard and highlight "the relationship of causation in civil liability".
 
Research Limitations
The generalizability of the results of this research is subject to several limitations. First, its geographical and spatial limitation is limited to the legal territory of the country of Iran, which is subject to the civil liability law of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The second limitation of its application is during the time period of the outbreak of the Corona disease, especially during the initial period of its outbreak at the end of 2018 and 2019, when the media were the most important means of receiving information from the society. The third limitation of its application is to the field of official media and official and registered accounts of social networks, because civil liability lawsuits cannot be filed about unofficial or official media abroad or unofficial accounts in social networks whose owner is not known.
 
Suggestion for Researchers
Considering that media rights is a nascent field and due to the strong presence of the media, which has increased greatly with the spread of mobile phones and occurs in various dimensions, it has become very important, it is suggested that the scope of the media's civil responsibility against various actions should be examined in the legal framework.
 
Suggestion for Media Managers
A lot of emphasis is placed on understanding the legal bases of civil responsibility of the media in their possession, because the consequences of any of their actions can lead to lawsuits and numerous material and moral damages.
It is also necessary for managers to act with more concern and obsession than publishing news that may create a dangerous atmosphere.
 
For legislators
The presence of media in various aspects of people's lives, which has taken place due to the prevalence of smart phones, has already triggered many new media activities, many of which have not been subject to legislation and are inevitably decided by interpreting other legal cases, while the specific characteristics of the media are not taken into account due to the non-specificity of the law. Therefore, it is recommended to create a special working group to investigate issues related to the civil responsibility of the media and propose new laws suitable to the conditions of the media, especially during crises such as the outbreak of an epidemic, to help them work efficiently.