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In a decision dated 4 May 2018, the European Commission found compatible with EU law the Lithuanian authorities’ suspension for 12 months of the retransmission of a Russian-language channel, RTR Planeta, on the grounds of incitement to hatred. In its previous decisions of July 2015 and February 2017, the Commission reached the same conclusion regarding the temporary suspension of retransmission of RTR Planeta for three months by the Lithuanian authorities (see IRIS 2017-6/5). In the light of recurring infringements, on 14 February 2018 the Lithuanian authorities adopted a decision to temporarily...

On 16 May 2018, the General Court delivered its judgment in Netflix International BV v. European Commission, finding inadmissible Netflix’s application for the annulment of the European Commission’s 2016 decision on Germany’s aid scheme for the funding of film production and distribution (see IRIS 2016-9/5). The Gesetz über Maßnahmen zur Förderung des deutschen Films (Filmförderungsgesetz - Law on the funding of film production) codifies an aid scheme for the funding of film production, distribution and exhibition, to be financed by a special levy imposed on undertakings in the cinema and video...

On 19 and 21 March 2018, the European Commission published two Notices to stakeholders setting out the effect of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union. The first Notice concerned the withdrawal of the UK and EU rules in the field of audiovisual media services, while the second Notice concerned the withdrawal of the UK and EU legislation in the field of geo-blocking. The Notices explained the implications for private parties − in particular providers of audiovisual media services. The Notice concerning audiovisual media services firstly states...

The Court of First Instance in Brussels has ordered Facebook to stop tracking users on third-party sites, and to destroy all similar data it has illegally collected thus far. The judgment is the latest in a long-running legal battle between the Belgian Privacy Commission and Facebook. The former started court proceedings against the social network site in 2015, when a study revealed that Facebook tracked non-users and logged out users for advertising purposes through “data cookies” on external websites (“third-party tracking”). Summary proceedings resulted in a judgment by the Brussels Court of...

On 31 January 2018, the European Commission decided that Sweden’s intention to impose a ban on alcohol advertising on two UK-based broadcasters that target mainly Swedish audiences is not compatible with EU law. This is the first Commission decision to be based on Article 4 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/EU) (AVMSD). Under the AVMSD, the laws applicable to a broadcaster are determined on the basis of the country-of-origin principle. According to this principle, a broadcaster must comply only with the rules of the EU member state in which it is established, even if it broadcasts...