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Regulation News

Due impartiality and news: Ofcom reprimands RT
posted on 29 September, 2015   (public)
Due impartiality and news: Ofcom reprimands RT On 21 September 2015, UK regulator Ofcom has ruled that three episodes of RT's programming were in breach of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code. The rulings published in the watchdog’s latest bulletin concern two...
Digital Single Market Strategy: consultations on geo-blocking and the role of platforms
posted on 25 September, 2015   (public)
Digital Single Market Strategy: consultations on geo-blocking and the role of platforms On 24 September 2015, the European Commission has launched two further consultations as part of the Digital Single Market Strategy issued on 6 May 2015: one on geo-blocking and one...
Media & Elections : French CSA publishes 15 proposals
posted on 21 September, 2015   (public)
Media & Elections : French CSA publishes 15 proposals With a view to better reconciling freedom of communication with rules on political pluralism in the audiovisual media, the French regulatory authority (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel - CSA) has...
Digitisation in Germany - 2015 DLM Report
posted on 15 September, 2015   (public)
Digitisation  in Germany - 2015 DLM Report The Directors Conference of the Media Authorities (DLM) has recently published its 2015 report on Digitisation, measuring the digitisation of the German broadcasting market and comparing it also to the international one. The...
French data protection authority highlights insufficient protection of children's privacy on the Internet
posted on 08 September, 2015   (public)
French data protection authority highlights insufficient protection of children's privacy on the Internet In May 2015, 29 data protection authorities in the world (of which the French CNIL - Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés), gathered in...
BAI fosters Irish skills in quality TV drama
posted on 07 September, 2015   (public)
BAI fosters Irish skills in quality TV drama Big Stories on the Small Screen is a new initiative, funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and Screen Training Ireland, focused on developing Irish skills in quality long-form screen drama. Big Stories will support...

Archived Regulation News

Regulators' Responses to the HLG Report on Media Freedom and Pluralism
posted on 15 October, 2013   (public)
Regulators' Responses to the HLG Report on Media Freedom and Pluralism The Public Consultation on the Independent Report from the High level Group (HLG) on Media Freedom and Pluralism launched by the European Commission in March closed at the end of June 2013. The...
Ofcom reports on disabled consumers’ use of communications services
posted on 26 September, 2013   (public)
Ofcom has published its most comprehensive study into disabled consumers’ use of communications services. The research shows that younger disabled people are taking advantage of the benefits of being online. Among the youngest age group (15-34), levels of internet...
Digital Radio: Ofcom unveils 2013 Report
posted on 25 September, 2013   (public)
On 25 September Ofcom has published its Digital Radio Report for 2013 as part of the Digital Radio Action Plan announced by the Government in July 2010. In the report ‘digital radio’ is used in its broadest sense to include all platforms and technologies that...
First Country Ranking of Community Media in Europe
posted on 12 September, 2013   (public)
The Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE), an international non-profit organisation which provides a common platform for networks, national federations and projects active in the "third media" sector, has completed the first Country Ranking of Community Media in...
Ofcom publishes its 10th Communications Market Report
posted on 01 August, 2013   (public)
Ofcom’s 10th Communications Market Report, which was published on 1 August 2013, reveals that people are still coming together to watch TV in the living room with 91% of UK adults view TV on the main set each week, up from 88% in 2002. However, people are increasingly...
Council of Europe addresses role of regulators on gender equality in the media
posted on 31 July, 2013   (public)
On 10 July 2013, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a Recommendation on gender equality and media. In its preamble, the recommendation emphasises that: Gender equality is an indispensable condition for the full enjoyment of human rights; Genuine...
Short extracts: French CSA consults on the implementation of new rules
posted on 23 July, 2013   (public)
On 17 July 2013, French broadcasting regulator Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) opened a public consultation on the implementation of recently introduced rules concerning the broadcast of short extracts of sports events. The new rules were set by a decision...
Assessing PSB funding: Irish regulator publishes recommendations
posted on 22 July, 2013   (public)
On 18 July 2013, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has published recommendations in respect of the required levels of funding for the public service broadcasters (PSBs), TG4 and RTÉ, over the next five years. The recommendations are based on a 248 page report...
EIGE reports on gender equality in decision-making in media organisations
posted on 11 July, 2013   (public)
Advancing gender equality in decision-making in media organisations, EIGE Report   On 21 June 2013, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) published a report entitled "Women and the Media - Advancing gender equality in decision-making in media...
What Future for DTT Platforms: French Ministry opens a consultation
posted on 10 July, 2013   (public)
The Direction générale des médias et des industries culturelles (DGMIC) of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication launched on 2 July 2013 a public consultation on the future of DTT platforms, further to the work currently conducted by the French...
Update on media freedom issues: new report of the OSCE - RFOM
posted on 20 June, 2013   (public)
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, delivered her regular report on the status of media freedom within the OSCE region to the OSCE Permanent Council on 13 juin 2013, three months after she was re-elected for a second mandate. The 36 pages report,...
Macedonia completes analogue terrestrial switch off
posted on 20 June, 2013   (public)
As planned, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia switched off the analog terrestrial television signal on 31 May 2013, at midnight after a five-year period of simulcasting. The two regulatory authorities in charge, the Broadcasting Council and the Agency for Electronic...
Irish BAI issues revised Rules on Food Advertising to Children
posted on 07 June, 2013   (public)
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has issued on 4th June 2013 revised versions of its General and Children’s Commercial Communications Codes. The Codes have been updated to include rules on commercial communications for High Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) food...
Ofcom reports on children’s increased exposure to alcohol advertising on TV
posted on 28 May, 2013   (public)
On 24 May Ofcom published a report on children’s and young people's exposure to alcohol advertising, which shows that the average number of alcohol adverts seen by children per week has increased significantly from 2.7 in 2007 to 3.2 in 2011. The research looks at...
Standard Settings for Media Freedom: European Parliament adopts Resolution
posted on 21 May, 2013   (public)
On 21 May, the European Parliament approved the initiative report of Romanian MEP Renate Weber (PNL, ALDE) on the EU Charter by adopting a resolution on standard settings for media freedom across the EU. The resolution calls on Member States and the Commission to take...
Accessibility: Ofcom's proposals to improve the quality of subtitling
posted on 17 May, 2013   (public)
On 17 May, Ofcom has published proposals for consultation aimed at improving live subtitling to provide a better viewing experience for people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing in the UK. While pre-prepared subtitling is generally of a good quality, viewers have made clear...
Belgian CSA publishes study on representation of homosexuality in the audiovisual media
posted on 17 May, 2013   (public)
On the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, the CSA of the French speaking Community of Belgium has published the outcome of its first assessment of stereotypes related to the sexual orientation in radio and TV broadcast content. The CSA has been monitoring...
European Commission consults on rapidly converging audiovisual market
posted on 25 April, 2013   (public)
The European Commission adopted on 24 April 2013 a Green Paper inviting stakeholders and the wider public to share their view on issues related to the rapid convergence in the audiovisual market and growing importance of the connected television in Europe. The changes in the...
ECHR rules that ban on paid political advertising in the UK justified
posted on 23 April, 2013   (public)
The European Court of Human Rights held on 22 April 2013, by nine votes to eight, that there was no violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights in the case of Animal Defenders International v. the United Kingdom. The case...
Irish BAI launches Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs
posted on 12 April, 2013   (public)
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has launched on 9 April 2013 a Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs. The Broadcasting Act 2009 requires broadcasters to ensure that all news broadcast is presented in an objective and impartial...
Ofcom publishes updated rules on party political and referendum broadcasts
posted on 02 April, 2013   (public)
On 21 March 2013, Ofcom published updated rules on party political and referendum broadcasts (PPRB Rules). The revision of the rules was preceded by a consultation carried out by Ofcom between November 2012 and January 2013. The review of the PPRB Rules was related to recent...
New chairperson for Dutch CvdM
by Marcel Betzel (CvdM - NL) posted on 27 March, 2013   (public)
Prof. Dr. Madeleine de Cock Buning, commissioner at the Commissariaat voor de Media (CvdM) since July 2009, has been appointed chairperson of the Dutch regulatory authority CvdM as of 1 April 2013 by the State Secretary of Media Affairs. In addition to her work for the CvdM,...
Measuring Diversity on Television - Outcome of French and Belgian assessment for 2012
posted on 26 March, 2013   (public)
The French and Belgian (French-Speaking Community) regulatory authorities have recently published the outcome of their assessment of diversity in television broadcast content for the year 2012. The objective of the research was to assess the perception of diversity in...
Independence of Audiovisual regulators: Commission launches public consultation
posted on 22 March, 2013   (public)
Pursuant to the 30 policy recommendations contained in the report of the High Level Group (HLG) on Media Freedom and Pluralism, which was made public on 21 January 2013, the European Commission launched two public consultations on media freedom and pluralism and on the...
Protection of minors in Romania: CNA launches public hotline
posted on 21 March, 2013   (public)
The National Audiovisual Council of Romania (NAC) launched a new public hotline number where cases of violation of the protection of minors in the field of television broadcasting may be reported. The free of charge hotline was launched as a result of a debate organised by...
DTT in Europe in 2012: Trends and Developments
posted on 12 March, 2013   (public)
the European Audiovisual Observatory, based on figures from the Yearbook 2012 and the MAVISE database, has published a press release highlighting the salient trends and developments of digital terrestrial television in Europe in 2012. According to the Observatory: 22 - out...
Live Internet streaming of free-to-air channels may be prohibited: CJEU Judgment
posted on 10 March, 2013   (public)
Further to a request for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held on 7 March 2013 that TV...
Gender Equality: REFRAM awards pilot project to Moroccan HACA
posted on 08 March, 2013   (public)
Further to the internal call for tender for a pilot project in favour of gender equality launched in October 2012 by the Francophone Network Media Regulators (REFRAM), the jury unanimously selected the project presented by the HACA, the Moroccan regulator on 8 March 2013. ...
OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media Dunja Mijatović reappointed
posted on 07 March, 2013   (public)
Picture credits: OSCE/Curtis Budden On 7 March 2013, the 57 OSCE participating States unanimously agreed to reappoint the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to a second three-year term. Dunja Mijatović was appointed...
Social media: A first analysis by the French CSA
posted on 26 February, 2013   (public)
The Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), the French regulatory authority in charge of broadcasting, published on 19 February 2013, a first analysis of the phenomenon of "social TV," which focuses on the delimitation of its scope, its development,...