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The Governmental Commission on Development of TV and Radio Broadcasting (see IRIS-Plus 2010-1) agreed at its meeting on 16 December 2010 on certain rules of the set-up for the 2nd and 3rd multiplexes of digital television in Russia. As was reported earlier the line-up for the first multiplex was approved by President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009 (see IRIS 2009-10/25). According to the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications both 2nd and 3rd sets of channels will be free for the audience. The price of the entry to the multiplexes for the broadcasters is still not determined. The 2nd multiplex...

On 11 March 2011 the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation (the highest court in commercial disputes) de facto upheld the decisions of lower courts that a popular social networking site was not liable for the actions of its users. In 2008 VGTRK, or the All-Russian State Television and Radio Company, filed a lawsuit against Vkontakte (InContact) social network demanding RUB 3 million (about EUR 75,000) in compensation for the unlicensed posting by one of its users of the popular feature film “Okhota na piranyu” (Piranha Hunt). Access to the film was apparently free of charge. Vkontakte...

On 17 March 2011, Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, presented the regular report to the OSCE Permanent Council, the organisation’s main decision-making body. The report consists of overviews of issues raised in the participating countries, activities of the Representative in the last reporting period and planned activities for the next reporting period. A large part of the report consists of the analysis of issues raised in 56 of the OSCE participating States. The report touches upon several issues concerning media freedom, inter alia, media pluralism, editorial...

As reported in a previous issue (see IRIS 2011-2/36) the Federal Service to Control Observance of Law in the Sphere of Protection of Cultural Heritage (Rosokhrankultura) at the Ministry of Culture was assigned and conducted in 2008-2010 the accreditation procedure in all six fields of collective management, including public performance, broadcasting and cablecasting of musical works. The results of the accreditation process were recently successfully challenged in the courts by bidders that had failed to obtain state permits. On 25 January 2011 the Arbitration Court of the City of Moscow by resolution...

On 21 December 2010 the State Duma (parliament) adopted at the third and last reading the bill “О защите детей от информации, причиняющей вред их здоровью и развитию” (On the Protection of Minors against Information Detrimental to their Health and Development) (see IRIS 2009-8/29), which was signed into law by the President on 29 December 2010. It comes into force on 1 September 2012. The new federal statute shall regulate “products of the mass media, printed materials, audiovisual materials on any material object, computer programmes and databases, as well as information disseminated by means...