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Regulation News

Human rights impacts of algorithmic systems: an invitation to comment
posted on 24 July, 2019   (public)
The Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) of the Council of Europe invites the public to comment the Draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the human rights impacts of algorithmic systems that is meant to be adopted by the...
Prominence of Public Service Broadcasting in the online world: Ofcom’s recommendations
posted on 19 July, 2019   (public)
UK Regulator is calling for new legislation to ensure that PSM content will remain easy to find online As part of a broader review on the sustainability of Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) released on 4 July 2019, UK communication regulator Ofcom has...
Ofcom expands Media Literacy activities
posted on 18 July, 2019   (public)
UK regulator establishes Advisory Panel and Network, as a recognition of the importance of online media literacy On 18 July 2019, Ofcom (UK) has made two key announcements during an event dedicated to online media literacy, as part of its Making Sense of Media research and...
Making social networks more accountable: towards a new French framework
posted on 18 July, 2019   (public)
The French ambition: introducing a new system of supervision, with the support of the regulator and the country of destination principle at its core Further to the public outcry over information disorder and hate speech online, the social media networks are increasingly...
New composition for the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia
posted on 15 July, 2019   (public)
Antonio Checa elected as new CAA President Following the approval of the nominations by the regional governing Council (Consejo de Gobierno de Andalucía), the new members of the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia (CAA) have taken over their responsabilities on 11 July...
New Chairperson for the Romanian National Audiovisual Council
posted on 11 July, 2019   (public)
On 3 July 2019, Ms. Maria Monica Gubernat was officially appointed as President of the Romanian regulatory authority, the National Audiovisual Council (NAC), further to the validation of the Romanian Parliament. Until recently, she was Vice Chairperson ad interim. In...
CJEU: clarification of the scope of Article 3 of the AVMS Directive
posted on 05 July, 2019   (public)
Restricting retransmission modalities for reasons of public policy is not restricting ‘freedom of reception’ under Article 3 of the AVMS Directive The Court of Justice of the European Union has released on 4 July 2019 a judgment following a request for a...
Takeaways from the 11th ERGA Plenary meeting in Bratislava
posted on 03 July, 2019   (public)
Monitoring the implementation of the Code of Practice on disinformation and reforming ERGA were key points on the agenda The 11th Plenary meeting of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) took place in Bratislava on 20 and 21 June 2019. One of...
Reuters Institute News Digital Report 2019: news’ consumption in times of political polarisation
posted on 25 June, 2019   (public)
While tech giants are forced to face more responsibilities and on-demand formats are becoming the new business model, concerns arise about quality journalism, for the benefit of more trusted news brands and radio podcasts The new edition of the annual Reuters Institute Digital...
AVMSD transposition: BAI’s proposals in response to Irish government’s public consultation
posted on 25 June, 2019   (public)
Irish AV regulator unveils vision based on a single regulator for all media content and a 'macro' approach with a robust complaints mechanism for VSPs     On 4 March 2019, the Irish government launched a public consultation to inform the drafting of a...
New Ofcom - ICO research: Internet users’ concerns about and experience of potential online harms
posted on 24 June, 2019   (public)
Personal data and bullying identified as major concerns for Internet users A recent report released in May 2019, commissioned by Ofcom with advice from the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office), intends to quantify concerns and experiences of Internet users, grouped...
UK age-verification for online pornography: entry in force delayed
posted on 11 June, 2019   (public)
Balancing privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content According to new measures coming into force on 15 July 2019*, commercial providers of online pornography will have to implement a robust age checking system, in order to keep minors from...
North Macedonia: AAAMS adopts Media Literacy Policy Paper
posted on 29 April, 2019   (public)
New Media Literacy Policy based on general and comprehensive concept for a sustainable approach taking into account recent changes in the media ecosystem After having conducted a public hearing, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services has adopted a Media Literacy...
JUFREX: new regional publication on regulators and protection of minors in South-East Europe
posted on 23 April, 2019   (public)
Transnational cooperation, self and co-regulation and media literacy are key pillars to establish adequate level playing field regarding protection of minors In April 2016, the three-year Joint Programme “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the...
EAO's Key Trends of Audiovisual Sector for 2018/2019
posted on 10 April, 2019   (public)
European market still a mosaic of national realities while weight of US-based companies increases The European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) has published in April 2019 its Key Trends from the Observatory’s Yearbook 2018/2019. This report - publicly available on the EAO...
OSCE-HCNM issues Guidelines on National Minorities and the Media in Digital Age
posted on 02 April, 2019   (public)
Tallinn Guidelines call on States to ensure sustainable and effective pluralistic media landscape enhancing national minorities’ representation Building on the 2003 Broadcast Media Guidelines, the Tallinn Guidelines were issued by the OSCE High Commissioner on National...
New President for the Turkish regulator RTÜK
posted on 14 March, 2019   (public)
Ebubekir SAHIN succeeded Ilhan YERLIKAYA as of 23 January 2019 Following the recent resignation of Prof. İlhan Yerlikaya from his position of President of the Radio and Television Supreme Council of Turkey and as required per Article 36 of Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of...
New President for the Swiss Independent Complaints Authority
posted on 13 March, 2019   (public)
Mascha Santschi Kallay succeeded Vincent Augustin as of 1 January 2019 Following her appointment on 7 November 2018 by the Swiss Federal Council, since 1 January 2019 Mascha Santschi Kallay is the new President of the Independent Complaints Authority (ICA). She succeeded ...
Estonian regulator changes name further to merger with Consumer Protection Board
posted on 13 March, 2019   (public)
The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority started operations since 1 January 2019 As of 1 January 2019, further to the proposition of the Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure, the Estonian Technical Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the...
Online safety and AVMSD’s transposition: Ireland announces public consultation for a new law
posted on 06 March, 2019   (public)
Ireland intends to make online service providers responsible for the protection of minors, under the control of an Online Safety Commissioner On 4 March 2019, Minister Bruton, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment in Ireland, launched a six-week ...
EAO reports on national rules for the promotion of European works in Europe
posted on 04 March, 2019   (public)
Mapping highlights fragmented European approaches Within the context of the on-going discussions around the implementation of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), the need for comparative data and analysis on the different initiatives and rules in support...
Artificial Intelligence: CoE looks at impacts on human rights, democracy and the rule of law
posted on 25 February, 2019   (public)
Human rights should remain at the centre of artificial intelligence designs The Council of Europe is addressing the impacts of Artificial Intelligence on human rights, democracy and the rule of law through an inclusive multi-stakeholder process...
New composition for the French CSA
posted on 18 February, 2019   (public)
Roch-Olivier Maistre took over the Presidency from Olivier Schrameck Following the proposal of the French President Emmanuel Macron and the endorsement by the National Assembly and the Senate, Roch-Olivier Maistre was appointed as President of the Conseil supérieur de...
Children’s Media Literacy: Ofcom’s Media Use and Attitudes Report 2018
posted on 06 February, 2019   (public)
Report reveals shift in media habits towards individual viewing via Netflix and YouTube as children increasingly own their own devices  On 28 January 2019, Ofcom published its Annual Report on Children and Parents Media Use and Attitudes. It provides detailed evidence...
EAO reports on Media Law Enforcement in 8 countries
posted on 31 January, 2019   (public)
Effective law enforcement increasingly dependent on complex multidisciplinary approach The way the Internet and new communication technologies revolutionised the dissemination of audiovisual content across borders has resulted in a digital cyberspace that is overwhelmed with...
Belgian CSA issues positive assessment: PSB fulfilled public service mission
posted on 28 January, 2019   (public)
RTBF encouraged to diversify sports broadcasts and boost off-screen diversity Further to Art. 136, 5° of the Coordinated Decree on audiovisual media services, the Belgian Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) is responsible for delivering an opinion on how...
Belgian study maps out investment obligations of on-demand AVMS providers in the EU
posted on 22 January, 2019   (public)
Study reveals highly fragmented approach in Member States The Free University of Brussels (Université libre de Bruxelles) published in December 2018 a study on the Obligations on on-demand audiovisual media services providers to financially contribute to the production...
Identifying Media Literacy projects to support quality journalism: Council of Europe MSI-JOQ survey
posted on 15 January, 2019   (public)
EPRA members are warmly encouraged to participate in the CoE survey on Media Literacy projects In Bratislava, members of the EPRA MIL Taskforce have agreed to help identify stakeholders and partners that are working on MIL projects in order to assist the Committee of Experts...
Media Literacy - CoE publishes analysis on best European practices
posted on 15 January, 2019   (public)
Involving a large variety of stakeholders to share and exchange knowledge and resources is key for sustainable MIL projects On 20 December 2018, the Media and Internet Governance Division of the Council of Europe presented a study on “European practices of the Regulatory...
Reminder: EPRA Work Programme for 2019
posted on 14 January, 2019   (public)
Provide your final comments & get involved in an exciting WP! This is to kindly remind you that the deadline for submitting your valuable input for the draft Annual Work Programme, which lays out EPRA’s priorities and anticipated work for 2019, by assembling your...

Archived Regulation News

Loudness on TV: Catalan Regulator takes steps
posted on 17 October, 2012   (public)
In line with the recent trend towards loudness normalization in several European countries, the Catalan Audiovisual Council (CAC) has recently been tackling the issue of sudden changes in volume on television during advertising breaks further to complaints from the public. A...
Creation of a new regulatory authority in Luxembourg: Draft Law
posted on 16 October, 2012   (public)
On 15 October 2012, Luxembourg's Minister for Communication and Media, Mr. François Biltgen, announced a - long awaited - reform of media law and the creation of the Independent Audiovisual Authority of Luxembourg (l’Autorité luxembourgeoise...
Irish BAI signals new rules for advertising of food and drink in children’s programmes
posted on 16 October, 2012   (public)
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) announced on October 12 the outcomes of a public consultation launched in March 2012 on a Draft Children’s Commercial Communications Code and a Draft General Commercial Communications Code. The Draft Codes concern regulatory...
Towards a convergent NRA in France? ARCEP's point of view
posted on 16 October, 2012   (public)
In the context of a consultation launched by the Prime Minister during summer, ARCEP, the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Post, published its position on the merger between the CSA and ARCEP, the two French regulatory authorities in charge of...
Update on SEE Digi.TV activities
posted on 11 October, 2012   (public)
The Second SEE Digi.TV International Conference which is organized by the lead partner of the project, the Post and Electronic Communications Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (APEK), will be held in Ljubljana on 18-19 October 2012. During this event (upon invitation...
Ofcom’s supplementary advice on media plurality
posted on 05 October, 2012   (public)
On 5 October 2012, Ofcom published supplementary advice to the Secretary of State on media plurality. This follows the report on the feasibility of measuring media plurality across platforms, presented to the Secretary of State for Culture in June 2012. Ofcom recommended to...
Access services: Ofcom's statement on new requirements for non-domestic channels
posted on 01 October, 2012   (public)
On 1 October 2012, Ofcom, the communications regulator in the UK, published a statement on new requirements for TV channels licensed by Ofcom and made available in other Member States of the European Union to provide access services such as subtitling, signing and audio...
Short extracts: Draft Decision by French CSA
posted on 01 October, 2012   (public)
The Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), the French regulatory authority, notified the European Commission of its draft Decision setting up the conditions for the transmission of short extracts of sport events and other events of high interest to the...
European Commission report on the promotion of European works
posted on 26 September, 2012   (public)
The European Commission published its report on the promotion of European works in television and on-demand audiovisual media services on 26 September 2012. The report examines how the Members States complied with the requirements of Articles 13, 16 and 17 of the Audiovisual...
4th CERF meeting convenes in Bratislava
posted on 25 September, 2012   (public)
From 20 to 21 September 2012, the Central European Regulatory Forum (CERF) held its 4th meeting in Bratislava, hosted by the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission of the Slovak Republic. More than 30 representatives from regulatory authorities in the Czech Republic,...
MEDIADEM publishes comparative findings on media policy
posted on 20 September, 2012   (public)
MEDIADEM, an EU funded research project on media policy-making processes in EU member states and candidate countries, recently published its comparative findings. The purpose of the research project is to identify which policy processes, tools and instruments can best support...
Report of the EU Media Futures Forum
posted on 20 September, 2012   (public)
On 20 September 2012, the EU Media Futures Forum, commissioned by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, released its final report on trends, opportunities and challenges in the media sector. This report complements the...
Community Media: Czech Regulator opens a public debate
posted on 19 September, 2012   (public)
The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting, the Czech regulatory authority, recently opened a public debate on Community Media by commissioning a report mapping out the possibilities for introducing "Third Sector" (non-profit) media in the Czech Republic. ...
Ofcom awards first local TV licences
posted on 13 September, 2012   (public)
On 12 September 2012, Ofcom (UK) awarded the first licences to run local TV services on DTT in Brighton and Grimsby. This was done following new legislation which enabled Ofcom to issue local TV licences. Local TV has been previously licensed on a limited basis by the...
Loudness on TV: French CSA report
posted on 06 September, 2012   (public)
On 5 September 2012, the French regulator CSA published its first report to Parliament on loudness levels on television. This report derives from Article 177 of Law No. 2010-788 of 12 July 2010, which requires that channels ensure an equal loudness level during...
New President and new Board for the Catalan Authority
posted on 26 July, 2012   (public)
The Catalan Authority, Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya (CAC), has a new President and a partly renewed Board. Roger Loppacher i Crehuet began his term of office as President on July 9, 2012. He replaces Mr Ramon Font, who resigned from his position to facilitate...
New President and new Board for the Italian AGCOM
posted on 26 July, 2012   (public)
The constitutive meeting of the new Board of the AGCOM, the Italian regulator in charge of broadcasting and telecommunications, took place on 26 July 2012 at the authority's headquarters in Naples. The new President is Angelo Marcello Cardani who replaces Corrado...
Ofcom's Communications Market Report 2012
posted on 26 July, 2012   (public)
On 18 July 2012, Ofcom published its 9th Communications Market Report on the UK’s TV, radio, broadband, telecoms and mobile industries. This year’s report shows that viewers watched television an average of four hours per day in 2011 – up from 3.7 hours in...
Looking beyond the AVMS Directive: the challenge of Connected TV, Limassol, 25-26 October
posted on 25 July, 2012   (public)
The European Commission and the Cyprus Radiotelevision Authority are organizing a conference entitled Looking beyond the AVMS Directive: the challenge of Connected TV in Limassol, Cyprus, on 25-26 October 2012.  The aim of the meeting is to stimulate thought and action...
Prominence of European works on VOD: Assessment by Belgian CSA
posted on 09 July, 2012   (public)
On 3 July 2012, the CSA of the French speaking Community of Belgium handed over to Parliament a global assessment report of its policy measures on the promotion of European works and works of the French Community of Belgium on VOD services. The CSA Recommendation of 24 June...
PSB funding changes in Finland
posted on 27 June, 2012   (public)
On 20 June 2012, the Finnish Parliament approved legislation on the new public service broadcasting tax. According to the new Acts, as of 1 January 2013, the activities of the Finnish public service broadcaster Yleisradio (YLE) will be funded from the state budget. The...
Access and disability: CSA study on DTT devices with voice features
posted on 24 June, 2012   (public)
The French CSA published on June 22 the results of the Mediatvcom study on the DTT devices with voice features. The study was commissioned by the CSA after the associations for the blind and visually impaired had stated that no DTT device designed for blind people existed in...
Commission asks ECJ to fine Poland for not fully implementing AVMS Directive
posted on 21 June, 2012   (public)
European Commission has decided to refer Poland to the European Court of Justice for failing to fully implement the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Poland has partially implemented the Directive but not the provisions concerning on-demand services. The Commission...
Compensation for the use of short extracts - ECJ
posted on 19 June, 2012   (public)
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Mr. Yves Bot, issued on June 12 a legal opinion in the case Sky Österreich GmbH v Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). The case concerns compensation payable by Austrian public broadcaster ORF to the holder of...
Measuring Plurality across platforms: Ofcom report
posted on 19 June, 2012   (public)
In October 2011, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport asked Ofcom to provide advice on the feasibility of measuring media plurality across platforms. On 19 June 2012, Ofcom published a report  giving an answer to the five questions raised by...
Media Pluralism: ECHR judgment in Centro Europa 7 and Di Stefano case
posted on 19 June, 2012   (public)
The European Court of Human Rights delivered the judgment in the case of Centro Europa 7 S.R.L. v. Italy and Di Stefano v. Italy on June 7. The case concerned an Italian TV company’s inability to broadcast for nearly ten years, despite having a broadcasting licence, due...
Belgian CSA workshop: "New Screens, new Regulation" - Brussels, 5-6 July
posted on 13 June, 2012   (public)
On 5 and 6 July 2012, the CSA of the French Community of Belgium and the MEDIADEM project jointly organise a workshop entitled "New screens, new regulation". This conference on the future of television, which will revolve around issues such as Connected TV, social...
REFRAM meets in Portorož at the eve of EPRA meeting
posted on 30 May, 2012   (public)
On the eve of the 35th EPRA meeting and with the support of the International Organization of la Francophonie, the seven broadcasting regulators that are also members of REFRAM, the network of French speaking media regulatory authorities, met on 29 May in Portorož (Slovenia)...
Pan-European Forum on Media Pluralism and New Media: Brussels, 27 June
posted on 22 May, 2012   (public)
The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn (UK), University of Leuven (Belgium) and the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (Italy) are organising the Pan-European Forum on Media Pluralism and New Media. The event will take place on June 27 at the premises of the...
Consultation on revision of Swiss Radio and Television Act
posted on 16 May, 2012   (public)
The Federal Council of Switzerland has opened a consultation procedure concerning the revision of the Radio and Television Act. The partial revision of the Act focuses on the replacement of the current reception fee by a universal radio and television fee. Today, when smart...