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Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has fined the BBC GBP 50,000 for the unfair conduct of a premium rate telephone competition. It is the first time that the BBC has been fined. A report commissioned by Ofcom has also found that there are systematic failures in compliance in the running of such competitions by a large number of broadcasters; the costs to competitors of such unfair treatment may run into millions of pounds. The BBC case concerned a telephone competition run on the BBC children’s programme “Blue Peter”. It was unusual in two ways; firstly because the proceeds went, not to the...

“Manhunt 2”, made by Rockstar Games for PS2 and Nintendo Wii consoles, cannot be legally supplied for the time being within the UK. This follows the decision by the British Board of Film Classification - BBFC not to give it a classification. In 2003,“Manhunt 1” was classified “18”, i.e., no-one under 18 may rent or buy it. The BBFC stated that the principal reasons underlying its decision included: - The unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying;- The sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which killings are committed; and - its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone....

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has decided that the fifth series of “Celebrity Big Brother”, produced by Brighter Pictures (part of Endemol) and broadcast by Channel Four, was in breach of the Broadcasting Code. The Code requires that broadcasters, who are required by the Communications Act 2003 to apply “generally accepted standards”, must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context, and that children must be protected from unsuitable material by means of appropriate scheduling. Ofcom had received 44,500 complaints about comments made about, and alleged bullying...

In two separate judgments delivered on 26 June 2007 (C-284/04 and C-369/04), the European Court of Justice ruled that the award by national regulatory authorities of licences, such as third generation mobile telecommunications licences (known as ‘UMTS’ or ‘3G’), did not constitute an economic activity within the meaning of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 (Sixth VAT Directive). The 3G technology allows the provision of Internet and multimedia services to mobile devices thanks to a greater capacity to transfer data. These references for a preliminary ruling were made in the...

Under Part VI of the Freedom of Information Act (Other Public Bodies And Offices: General)(2000) the British Broadcasting Corporation (and other public service broadcasters) constitutes a public authority, which may be required to disclose information it holds to anyone requesting that information. However, the law qualifies the extent of its application to the BBC. There is a “derogation”: it only applies to the “The British Broadcasting Corporation, in respect of information held for purposes other than those of journalism, art or literature”. In November 2004, an internal report was written...