Search results : 306

In a decision of 17 October 2012, the Austrian broadcasting regulator Kommunikationsbehörde Austria (KommAustria) dismissed a complaint by 13 private television broadcasters against the Österreichischer Rundfunk (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation - ORF). The case involved the transmission of tennis matches in the Davis Cup tie between Austria and Belgium on the ORF sports channel ORF Sport +. According to section 4b(4) of the Gesetz über den Österreichischen Rundfunk (ORF Act), the ORF is prohibited from broadcasting so-called premium sports competitions on its sports channel, these competitions...

On 22 October 2012, the Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Administrative Court - VwGH), which has supreme administrative jurisdiction in Austria, confirmed the so-called “Facebook ban” in the case of the Österreichischer Rundfunk (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation - ORF) and dismissed an action brought by the ORF as unfounded. In spring 2012, the Kommunikationsbehörde Austria (KommAustria), the authority responsible for regulating the ORF, established that the ORF’s provision of a Facebook page constituted an infringement of the ORF-Gesetz (ORF Act) (see IRIS 2012-3/9). The legal remedy lodged by the ORF...

On 4 October 2012, the Austrian communications authority KommAustria upheld a complaint by the Verband Österreichischer Privatsender (Association of Austrian private broadcasters) and ruled that Österreichische Rundfunk (the Austrian public service broadcaster - ORF) had failed to fulfil its public service remit over an 18-month period. KommAustria also ordered that the complaints be read out on the two main channels concerned, ORF eins and ORF 2. Referring to their own evaluations of its programmes during the period concerned, the plaintiffs had argued that, contrary to Article 4(2) of the ORF-Gesetz...

On 29 June 2012, the Austrian Verfassungsgerichtshof (Constitutional Court - VfGH) ruled that the disclosure of the owner of an IP address to the security authorities under Articles 53(3a)(2) and (3) of the Austrian Sicherheitspolizeigesetz (Security Police Act - SPG) did not breach either the secrecy of telecommunications or the right to data protection. The plaintiff had given the impression on an Internet chat site that he was offering under-age children (“7-11 year olds, or even younger if required”) for sex. The Vienna police authorities were informed and took immediate steps to ascertain,...

On 23 May 2012, the Bundeskommunikationssenat (Federal Communications Board - BKS) ruled that Österreichischer Rundfunk (Austrian public service broadcaster - ORF) had not infringed the ban on sponsorship of news programmes and political information broadcasts enshrined in Article 17(4) of the ORF-Gesetz (ORF Act - ORF-G) by broadcasting its weekly “Schauplatz Börse” programme. A complaint had been lodged, arguing that the programme “Schauplatz Börse” was a topical news programme for the stock market and financial sector, which should not be sponsored. The topical nature of the programme was clear...