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Six major US studios, holding rights to a large number of films and television programmes, applied to the UK High Court for an order requiring the five major UK internet service providers to block access to nine different websites. This was to prevent very large scale copyright infringement and can be granted under section 97A of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. The service providers did not oppose the granting of the orders. The websites fell into three different types. The first two were streaming sites and BitTorrent sites; previous decisions of the courts had granted blocking orders...

Although political advertising is not allowed in UK broadcasting, the Communications Act 2003 makes provision for the allocation of free party election broadcasts before elections and referendums to be shown by the major broadcasters. The broadcasts are to be allocated to major parties included in a list drawn up by Ofcom, the communications regulator, which has also drawn up a set of rules relating to the broadcasts. Each major party is entitled to at least two such broadcasts, whilst other parties are entitled to one broadcast if they are contesting one-sixth of seats in the election. The BBC...

Channel 4 News broadcast an item on 6 March 2014 concerning possible corruption in the London Metropolitan Police (MPS), as well as, in another situation, the role of undercover policing. The item involved, to a small extent, a reporter conducting “vox-pop” interviews with five individuals in an area of South London, defined as “recorded interviews with members of the public talking informally in public places about particular topics.” The (London) Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) complained to Ofcom that the item was neither duly accurate nor duly impartial (the MPS, additionally, complained...

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has determined that RT (formerly known as Russia Today) breached Ofcom’s rules on accuracy and impartiality in four news bulletins on the situation in Ukraine during March 2014. In a detailed 40-page decision, Ofcom concluded that in light of previous breaches (see IRIS 2014-2/22), the broadcaster is now being put “on notice” that any further breaches may result in further regulatory action, including statutory sanctions. RT is a global news and current affairs channel produced in Russia and broadcast on satellite and digital terrestrial platforms in the...

Ofcom has a statutory duty pursuant to the Communications Act 2003 to set standards for broadcast content as appear to it best calculated to secure the standards objectives, one of which is that “persons under the age of eighteen are protected”. This is also reflected in Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code. As such, the early morning broadcast on BBC’s Radio 1’s breakfast show of a song that included in the lyrics the word “fuck” was in breach of the Code, as children were most likely to be listening at that time. BBC Radio 1’s show “Breakfast with Nick Grimshaw” played at about 7:55 a.m. a session recording...