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On 27 August 1999 new rules amending the eligibility criteria for British films set out under Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985 came into force in the United Kingdom. Certification as a British film is necessary for tax benefits and may be necessary to qualify for funding from the Arts Councils on behalf of the National Lottery or from British Screen Finance (BSF) or the European Co-Production Fund (ECF). These new rules, which have been drawn up in consultation with the film industry, the Treasury and the European Union, are aimed at helping to attract investment in British films and at ensuring...

On 23 July 1999 the British Government published the draft of the Electronic Communications Bill. The first proposal relating to this Bill gave rise to a substantial amount of criticism by some members of the Government. Because of this, the British Department of Trade and Industry has departed from the previous proposal on a number of relevant issues, ranging from the originally envisaged system of mandatory controls on the use of encryption, to the extremely strict regulation on the matter of unsolicited e-mails. The original proposal concerning the possibility for law-enforcement bodies to obtain...

A report commissioned by the UK Government on future financing of the BBC has made a number of important recommendations. It was made by an independent panel headed by Gavyn Davies, an influential economist. The recommendations are not binding on the Government but are likely to be extremely important in shaping future Government policy. The bulk of BBC funding has come in the form of the annual licence fee payable by all users of television sets; however, this has not kept pace with broadcasting inflation and provides only limited funds for the development of new services. The most controversial...

At the end of July 1999, the judgment on certain restrictions in the Football Association Premier League's (PL) rules and in its broadcasting agreements with BSkyB and the BBC was handed down by Justice Ferris at the Restrictive Practices Court in London. The restrictions enabled the PL to sell television rights on a collective and exclusive basis to BSkyB and the BBC. The judgment was delivered after a four month trial, with over 70 witnesses and experts, and is of crucial importance to sports broadcasting and the development of TV. The Director General of Fair Trading - John Bridgeman - referred...

For the first time, the Independent Television Commission which regulates private broadcasting in the UK, has revoked a broadcaster's licence. The broadcaster involved was Med TV, a satellite television service for a Kurdish audience, broadcasting throughout Europe and based in the UK. The Commission considered that four broadcasts, which had included inflammatory statements encouraging acts of violence in Turkey or elsewhere, were «likely to encourage or incite to crime or lead to disorder» and so would be in breach of UK law as set out in the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996. In November 1998...