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On 19 May 2006, the Red-Green Government in Norway informed Parliament that the prohibition on political and religious advertising on TV, as laid down in the Broadcasting Act, will be upheld. The decision reversed the former Government’s proposal to repeal the ban. Last summer, the previous Government in Norway circulated for public review a proposal to allow political and religious advertising on TV except for a period of four weeks before and on Election Day where a total ban should apply. No particular regulation was proposed on such advertising outside this period, even though limitations on...

Following a complaint by the Norwegian Consumer Council earlier this year, the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman, in a letter dated 30 May 2006 to iTunes Music Store Norway (the defendant), declared that several of the terms applied by the online music service in its contracts with consumers were found to be in breach of Norwegian law. Thus, iTunes Music Store Norway has been formally instructed to alter the unlawful terms by 21 June 2006 (the deadline was subsequently extended to 1 August 2006). The Consumer Ombudsman stated that some of the terms applied by the online music service are to be considered...

On 5 May 2006, the Norwegian Government tabled a legal proposal allowing for substantial amendments to the Lov om Film- og Videogram (the Act on Film and Video - AFV). Abolishing censorship of cinema films aimed at adults is one of the crucial changes. Accordingly, only films with an audience including children (below 18 years) intended for public showing at cinemas need approval by the Media Authority. The Media Authority is authorized to determine age classifications, which remain at four levels in Norway: ”for all”, above 7 years, above 11 years and above 15 years (in the event that an adult...

The Norwegian Media Ownership Act was enacted in 1997 for the purpose of promoting freedom of expression, genuine opportunities to express one's opinions and a comprehensive range of media. Originally, the Act empowered the supervisory body - the Media Ownership Authority - to intervene in acquisition of ownership interests within the media sector, in order to avoid accumulation in the hands of any one entity of "significant ownership positions" in the national, regional or local markets. A “significant” position was in practice, with regard to the national market, interpreted as a market share...

Norway has implemented the EC Copyright Directive. The implementation was carried out through several alterations of the Norwegian Copyright Act (it has entered into force as of 1 July 2005). A White Paper prepared by the Ministry of Cultural and Church Affairs laid the foundations for the implementation (see IRIS 2005-4: 16). During the subsequent Parliamentary scrutiny, some minor adjustments were made. Most controversial among these was undoubtedly the expansion of the statutory permission to circumvent applied technological protection measures in order to be able to enjoy a lawfully acquired...