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According to Section 11 of the Communications Act 2003, “It shall be the duty of OFCOM to take such steps, and to enter into such arrangements, as appear to them calculated (a) to bring about, or to encourage others to bring about, a better public understanding of the nature and characteristics of material published by means of the electronic media; (b) to bring about, or to encourage others to bring about, a better public awareness and understanding of the processes by which such material is selected, or made available, for publication by such means;…” To that end, the Media Literacy Unit published...

The European Commission has approved, under the state aid rules, the “FibreSpeedWales” project. This project, funded by the Welsh Development Agency, aims to contribute to reducing the relatively slow development of broadband in Wales. This slow-paced development is due to the nation's geographical isolation, its mountainous terrain and its low population density; as a result, broadband prices for businesses can be several times higher than in other areas of the UK. The project targets business parks for which affordable broadband services are not available as they are located in remote areas and...

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, reviewed the independent production sector in 2002 and, as a result, new Codes of Practice were issued setting out the principles by which the public service broadcasters commission programmes from independent producers (see IRIS 2004-2: 13). It has now undertaken a further review and has recommended changes to the codes. The review found that with more than 27,000 hours of programmes made by UK producers in 2004, UK viewers enjoy one of the highest levels of domestically-originated content in the world. 56% of output was produced in house by the broadcasters,...

The English High Court has made two summary judgements ruling that the two men involved cease using peer-to-peer software facilitating the illegal sharing of music files. The identity of one was obtained after a court order had been served on an Internet Service Provider. The decisions are the first cases to be heard on this issue in a UK court. Many cases (150 cases launched since October 2004) have been settled out of court - for up to GBP 6 500. The file-sharing constitutes an infringing act under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act of 1988. One man was ordered to make an immediate payment...

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has recently upheld complaints concerning advertisements repeating dentists' endorsements of two toothpaste products. Complaints about broadcast advertising require the ASA to apply the broadcast advertising Code to the commercials in question. The relevant part of the Code is Section 8, “Medicines, Treatments, Health Claims and Nutrition.” It states that: "The following are not acceptable in advertisements for products or treatments within the remit of Section 8:….Impressions of professional advice and support". Such impressions can include "…references...