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On December 1, 1998, telecoms were deregulated in Ireland, one year ahead of schedule. This was done despite a derogation which would have lasted until January 2000. The decision was taken to end Telecom Eireann's monopoly and introduce full competition early because of fears that delay could affect the economy and especially the e-commerce industry. There had already been competition in some sectors, such as the mobile phone sector and services to the business community, but not in the range of services available to residential customers. However, as Telecom Eireann still controls the network...

The purpose of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, passed a few months ago, is to prohibit trafficking in, or the use of, children for the purposes of their sexual exploitation, and to prohibit the production, dissemination, handling or possession of child pornography. The Act, which is aimed particularly at the Internet, covers film, video, tapes, computer disks, and other forms of audio and visual representation, through any medium, or produced by or from computer graphics or any other electronic or mechanical means. The Internet is not specifically mentioned but the scope of the Act...

In a recent case the Irish High Court decided that a "Power CD" is a record for the purposes of copyright. A "Power CD" is a compact disc which in addition to sound tracks (as in the usual type of compact disc), also contains text, graphics and visual images for playing on a multi-media computer. Although a new Copyright Bill is due to be published at the end of October 1998, this area of law is still largely governed by the Copyright Act 1963. Section 2 of the Act essentially defines a "record" as any device in which sounds are embodied so as to be capable of being automatically reproduced from...

The Radio and Television Act 1988 (section 10 subsection 3) prohibits advertisements directed towards any religious or political end, or related to an industrial dispute. In a recent decision, the Irish High Court upheld the refusal of the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC) to permit a number of independent radio stations to broadcast an advertisement by "Youth Defence". "Youth Defence" is an organisation which tries to inform the public concerning issues about abortion and to ensure the protection of the unborn child. (The life of the unborn child is constitutionally protected...

In common with other jurisdictions, video piracy is a major problem in Ireland. Although a major review of the legislation is underway - in particular, the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 1998 provides for an increase in the penalties allowable for copyright piracy from £1000 to £100,000 or five years in prison - this area is still governed in Ireland by the Copyright Act 1963. A recent Irish High Court case examined the question of whether a videotape is a cinematographic film for the purposes of copyright. The judgement goes some way towards improving the copyright protection which subsists in cinematographic...