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On 6 April the Portuguese Parliament adopted Law 421/XI on the use of open standards on public IT systems. Although this law concerns the public administration, it is expected to open a discussion on open standards in other areas as well, as it contains a clear definition of both open standards and interoperability. The law defines "open standard" as a technical standard intended for the publication, transmission and storage of digital information, meeting the necessary requirements established by its provisions. Accordingly, an open standard has to be adopted and maintained by a non-profit organisation...

On 11 April 2011 the new Portuguese television act (see IRIS 2011-4/30) was published in the official news bulletin, the Diário da República, after receiving parliamentary approval last February. The new act transposes the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (Directive no. 2007/65/CE - AVMSD) and introduces amendments to previous national laws, namely the Television Act no. 27/2007, the Publicity Code and the Act that restructures the radio and television public service broadcasters (Law no. 8/2007). Some of the main changes in this sector are related to media ownership and advertising. The...

On 2 March 2011, the Parliamentary Commission on Ethics, Society and Culture (13ª Commissão de Ética, Sociedade e Cultura) approved the Social Democrats' request to conduct several hearings in order to evaluate the experience of media regulation in Portugal. Following the ending of the current Regulatory Council’s mandate of the Entidade Reguladora para a Comunicação Social (media regulatory authority - ERC), the request seeks to organize hearings of several representatives of the media sector regarding the five years’ mandate. This situation further delays the appointment of the members of the...

In April 2011, the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (regulator, supervisor and representative of the communications sector in Portugal - ANACOM) launched two consultations in the area of electronic communications. ANACOM launched a consultation on the allocation of licenses for wireless frequencies in the 450, 800, 900 and 1800MHz bands, as well as 2.1 and 2.6GHz. The regulation concerned focuses on the granting of rights of frequency use over a massive section of the spectrum. This is intended for the provision of publicly available terrestrial electronic communication services in a broad consideration. Practical...

On 4 February 2011, the Portuguese Parliament approved a new television law. The Socialist Party (PS) voted in favour of the new law, while both the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the right wing Christian Democrats CDS-PPs abstained. The decree, called Decreto nº 76/XI, derives from the Proposta de Lei n.º 29/XI/1. ª (Bill no. 29/XI), which was previously approved by the Parliamentary Commission on Ethics, Society and Culture (13ª Comissão de Ética, Sociedade e Cultura). The new Television Law transposes the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (Directive no. 2007/65/CE - AVMSD) and makes...