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In a judgment of 19 September 2002, the Bayerisches Verwaltungsgericht München (Bavarian Administrative Court, Munich - VG München) ruled on the admissibility of pornographic television broadcasts. It referred to the rules of interpretation laid down in the judgment issued by the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court - BVerwG) on 20 February 2002 (see IRIS 2002-3: 7), which established an important principle. The case concerned the lawfulness of a ban imposed by the relevant supervisory authority, the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (Bavarian Office for New Media - BLM),...

Youth protection reforms in Germany (see IRIS 2002-6: 13) are progressing. On 21 June 2002, the Bundesrat (upper house of parliament) followed the Bundestag (lower house) in approving the new Jugendschutzgesetz (Youth Protection Act). The Act will enter into force together with the Staatsvertrag über den Schutz der Menschenwürde und den Jugendschutz in Rundfunk und Telemedien - Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (InterState Agreement on the protection of human dignity and minors in broadcasting and telemedia - JMStV), for which the Länder are responsible. One of the aims of these reforms is to create...

On 22 July, the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartels Office) announced that, from a competition point of view, there was no reason to prevent co-operation between Deutsche Telekom AG (DTAG) and housing companies in connection with the development of the level 4 cable network (connecting the boundary of the individual house to a connection point inside the house). According to the co-operation model, Kabel Deutschland GmbH (KDG), a subsidiary of DTAG, will take responsibility for upgrading the cable networks on behalf of housing companies. Although the housing industry will continue to provide cable...

In mid-July 2002, the independent Monopolkommission (Monopolies Commission) submitted to the Bundeswirtschaftsministerium (Federal Ministry of the Economy) its 14 major report, entitled "Netzwettbewerb durch Regulierung" (network competition through regulation). One particular chapter deals with network access arrangements and proposes practical measures for future regulation of this area. A particularly significant recommendation is that a cross-sectoral regulatory authority be created for railways, energy, telecommunications and postal services in order to counteract effectively the demands made...

In two emergency rulings, the Verwaltungsgericht München (Munich Administrative Court - VG München) had to determine the degree to which the "Freak Show" programme broadcast by music channel MTV and based on the American programme "Jackass" constituted a danger to minors. The relevant supervisory body, the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (Bavarian New Media Office - BLM), had banned the repeat showing of six programmes which had already been broadcast and were deemed to be obviously capable of seriously endangering minors. It had also restricted the showing of further episodes to the...