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The Austrian Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur (Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture - BMUKK) has distributed a draft amendment to the Filmförderungsgesetz (Film Aid Act) for evaluation (evaluation deadline: 15 March 2010). The most important change concerns the flexibility of blocking periods. In order to protect the different stages of exploitation, the draft prevents film producers from exploiting or allowing the exploitation of films or parts thereof during blocking periods (starting with their release in cinemas) on picture carriers in Austria or of German-language...

On 2 March 2010, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) made public its latest reports on Albania, Austria, Estonia and the United Kingdom, adopted in the fourth round of its monitoring of the laws, policies and practices to combat racism in the Member States of the Council of Europe (for commentary on earlier reports, see IRIS 2009-10: 0/109, IRIS 2009-8: 5, IRIS 2009-5: 4, IRIS 2008-4: 6, IRIS 2006-6: 4 and IRIS 2005-7: 3). A number of key recommendations dealing with the (audiovisual) media and/or the Internet can be distilled from relevant sections of these reports. The...

At the end of 2009, the Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery) published for debate an extensive draft amendment to Austrian broadcasting laws. The consultation procedure has since been completed, so the Federal Government can now consider the opinions that have been submitted as it draws up a Government bill. The organisation and remit of the Kommunikationsbehörde Austria (Austrian communications authority - KommAustria) are the subject of significant changes. In future, KommAustria will not be subject to directives and will take the form of a collegiate authority. Its role will be extended to...

The Austrian Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie (Federal Ministry for Traffic, Innovation and Technology) has published a bill transposing the Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC into national law. The public had until 15 January 2010 to submit opinions on the bill as part of the consultation procedure. The bill amending the Telekommunikationsgesetz (Telecommunications Act), drafted on the ministry's behalf by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institut für Menschenrechte (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights - BIM) sticks very closely to the provisions of the Directive. The data...

In a previously unpublished decision taken in summer 2009, the Oberlandesgericht Wien (Vienna Appeal Court - OLG Wien) set out the conditions under which a person can be considered to have consented to television reporting about him/herself. An Austrian television company had produced a documentary on the work of the motorway police. The plaintiff was filmed by a camera crew employed by the broadcaster while a police officer carried out his official duties in a service station car park. The footage was broadcast several times in early 2009. It showed defects in the plaintiff's car and the conversation...