Netherlands

[NL] Media Authority's regulatory power on access to cable networks extended

IRIS 1996-6:1/19

Marcel Dellebeke

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

By a letter dated 29 May 1996 to Parliament, the Dutch under-secretary for culture announced that the Council of Ministers has agreed to extend the Media Authority's regulatory power on access to cable networks until 1 January 1997. Originally, amendment of the Media Act of 2 April 1996 gave the Authority this power of intervention until 1 July 1996. ( See IRIS 1996-5 : 12) The Parliament now has to approve the extension of the power under article 69 of the Media Act. The amendment - as the under secretary announced - will be put before the Parliament on the shortest possible term. The term is extended because, since the amendment came into force on 4 April in stead of the intended 1 January, the term for supervision by the Media Authority would be too short. The period until the 1 January 1997 will provide time to on one hand evaluate the Authority's decisions in this matter, and on the other hand consider how this sort of supervision should be regulated after this date.