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During 2007, the UK experienced a series of major scandals involving the participation of viewers in television programmes, mainly through the use of premium rate telephone services (see IRIS 2007-8: 11 and IRIS 2007-10: 15). As a result, Ofcom, the communications regulator, fined broadcasters a total of GBP 3.5 million; it also commissioned a report into the actions of broadcasters, which concluded that systemic problems exist in the use of such services. Ofcom has now decided on action to implement all the recommendations of the report. In future, all TV broadcasters’ licences will make the broadcasters...

Following a decision in June 2007 by the British Board of Film Classification not to give it a certificate (see IRIS 2007-7: 14), the videogame Manhunt 2, made by Rockstar Games for PS2 and Nintendo Wii consoles, could not be legally supplied within the United Kingdom. A revised version has also been refused a certificate. The BBFC’s main rationale was that the game depicted unremitting violence towards humans. However, as was pointed out in an article in the Times newspaper, there has been no difficulty in purchasing a copy online. On 10 December 2007, the BBFC’s decision was overturned by a decision...

The UK’s major competition authority, the Competition Commission, decided in December that BSkyB’s 17.9% holding in ITV Plc, the UK’s major commercial broadcaster, amounted to a merger situation and had resulted in a substantial lessening of competition within the UK market for all television services. As a result the Secretary of State for Business and Enterprise has ordered the shareholding to be reduced to a level below 7.5%. In November 2006, BSkyB announced that it had acquired a 17.9% shareholding in ITV Plc, which at the time was facing a possible takeover by Virgin Media. The minister referred...

An adjudication by the UK Advertising Standards Authority Council (Broadcast) has decided that a radio advertisement for Virgin Media Broadband did not infringe the British Code of Advertising Practice Radio Advertising Code, Section 3, concerning “Misleadingness”. A parallel adjudication by the Advertising Standards Authority Council (Non- broadcast) also cleared Virgin in respect of a national press advertisement headed “Truth, Lies and Broadband”. In total, 10 claims were the subject of the adjudication. However, most of the objections, made by both the general public and competitors (British...

The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the UK communications regulator, has issued a guidance on protecting under-eighteens in programmes. The guidance is non-binding, but clarifies provisions in the binding Broadcasting Code. The guidance includes advice on programmes, which may be viewed by children; for example, on the 9 pm “watershed” for adult viewing, coverage of sexual and other offences, drugs and alcohol abuse, violence and dangerous behaviour. However, the guidance mainly concerns the participation of under-eighteens in programmes. The Broadcasting Code provides that “due care must be...