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The BBC Trust, the apex of the BBC’s system of self-regulation, issues a service licence for every BBC UK public service channel. The licence defines the scope, aims, objectives, headline budget, and other important features of each service and states how performance is assessed by the Trust. Each BBC service is reviewed against its licence at least once every five years. Previously, the service licence for the main BBC channel, BBC One, did not contain any requirement as to the amount of current affairs programming to be shown in peak time on this channel. BBC One has the highest share of viewing...

On 1 October 2014, changes to UK copyright law came into effect. A series of Statutory Instruments have been given effect that in turn amend the relevant sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (1998 Act). The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Quotation and Parody) Regulations 2014 amends section 30 of the 1988 Act so that fair dealing with a copyright work for the purposes of caricature, parody, or pastiche does not infringe copyright in the work. This means that one can use a sample of another person’s work, e.g. song, music, film or artwork, without seeking permission or...

Ofcom, the UK Communications Regulator, received two complaints about a racial reference in the very popular BBC programme ‘Top Gear’, a magazine series on motoring. The BBC is covered by the Ofcom Programme Code, rule 2.3 of which states that ‘[i]n applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which causes offence is justified by the context’. Such offensive material may include ‘discriminatory treatment or language’ (for example, on the grounds of race). The episode of ‘Top Gear’ was filmed in Burma, and involved the presenters building a makeshift bridge over the...

Ofcom has determined that the news channel RT (formerly known as Russia Today) breached the rules relating to impartiality of election coverage. RT had broadcast a projected election outcome of the United Kingdom for the European Parliamentary elections once the polling stations had opened, in breach of the Ofcom Code.  RT is produced in Russia and is broadcast on satellite and digital terrestrial platforms in the UK. The licence for RT is held by the autonomous non-profit organisation TV Novosti. Under the Communication Act 2003, Ofcom has a statutory duty to set broadcasting standards, including...

On 2 July 2014, the British advertising industry’s self-regulatory body, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), reprimanded the electronic game manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA) for an advertisement for its “Dungeon Keeper” game. The “Dungeon Keeper” game is a so-called Freemium game, i.e. the game is, in principle, free, but players can acquire equipment, credits and so on, via in-app purchases in order to progress further in the game. The ASA acknowledged that, in principle, it was possible to complete the game without spending money. However, it would take much longer and limit gameplay...