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For the first time since the co-regulatory system for the protection of youth in the media was established in Germany (see IRIS 2002-9: 15), the state regulator, the Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (Commission for Protection of Youth in the Media - KJM), has overturned a decision of the co-regulatory body, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Fernsehen (FSF). The FSF had examined various episodes of the MTV cosmetic surgery show " I want a famous face " before they were broadcast and approved them for daytime transmission. Under the provisions of the Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (Inter-State Agreement...

On 9 July 2004, the Landtag (regional parliament) of North Rhine-Westphalia held a hearing on a Bill tabled by the Landesregierung (regional government) amending the Gesetz für den Westdeutschen Rundfunk (West German Broadcasting Act). The participants included representatives of regional broadcasting authorities, regulatory bodies, cable and satellite associations and academics. Based on the complaints management system used by the British public broadcaster BBC, the Bill proposes the creation of an independent programming and complaints body, which would decide on viewers' complaints in agreement...

In a ruling of 29 July 2004, the OLG München (Munich Appeal Court) clarified the requirements governing the distribution of media that carry the warning "unsuitable for young people" (case no. 29 U 2745/04). The parties in the proceedings were two mail-order companies that rent out film DVDs via the Internet. The applicant complained that the distribution method used by the respondent failed to ensure that DVDs categorised as unsuitable for under-18s did not fall into the hands of children or young people. Individuals wishing to rent the films, after registering their personal data on the respondent's...

RTL Television, the German subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based RTL Group, has withdrawn a complaint to the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) against a decision of the Oberlandesgericht Celle (Celle Appeal Court - OLG). The proceedings concerned the forfeiture of income earned from illegal advertising. In 1997, the OLG had ruled in the last instance that RTL could not take advantage of the more relaxed regulations governing series when calculating the maximum permissible number of commercial breaks (see IRIS 1997-7: 11). The relevant media supervisory body, the Niedersächsische...

In July 2004 the European Commission initiated state aid proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany in accordance with Article 88 (2) of the EC Treaty with respect to the examination of the financing of DVB-T in Berlin-Brandenburg (see IRIS 2004-6: 5) . The complaint concerns the subsidies (the so-called Ausgleichsgebühr), paid to broadcasters by the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg media authority - mabb). These subsidies represent 30% of the transmission fee that private broadcasters have to pay to the operator of the DVB-T network (T-Systems). As part of a frequency...