Slovenia

[SI] Criticism of the Agreement between the Regulating Authorities and the TV Broadcasters

IRIS 2004-6:1/31

Peter Strothmann

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

The agreement on the protection of minors concluded between the regulating authorities, the Svet za Radiodifuzijo (Broadcasting Council ­ SRDF), and the biggest TV broadcasters minors is subject to criticisms.

The criticisms focus in particular on the alleged lack of compatibility of the agreement with Art. 84 paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Zakon o Medijih (Media Law ­ see IRIS 2004-5: 15). These regulations deal with the protection of children and adolescents against harmful broadcasting content. The broadcasting of violent and erotic content

­ scenes of extreme forms of pornography is generally forbidden ­ is limited to the period between 00:00 and 05:00 and must be specifically labelled during broadcasting. Furthermore, the broadcast must be preceded by a warning that the programmes are unsuitable for children under the age of 15. The agreement has also been criticized because it determines only the content that cannot be seen by children under 15 without the supervision of adults and must be identified as such. The timeframe in which violent and erotic content may be broadcast is not specified in the agreement. In addition to this criticism of the contents, it is also objected that the designation of the warning notices is incomplete and inconsistent.