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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 year 2009 has been a fruitful year for legislation in the broadcasting scene in Malta. Earlier on in the year, Parliament enacted a law to empower the Maltese Broadcasting Authority to license radio and television satellite services. Currently, the House of Representatives is discussing a Bill to amend the Broadcasting Act to transpose the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS), whilst another Bill has been drawn up - though it has not yet been published - intended, inter alia, to regulate general interest objectives in Maltese Broadcasting Law. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive...

On 22 December 2009 the Seimas adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information (Law) on the grounds of proposals put forward by the President. The aim of the amendments is to widen the field of application of the Law to all public information. The Law was supplemented with a new criterion according to which particular public information can be determined as harmful to minors if it promotes behaviour that is humiliating to human dignity, or sexual violence of minors and their exploitation, as well as sexual relations with...

On 17 December 2009, the Italian Government issued a draft legislative decree for the implementation of Directive 2007/65/EC on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMSD). The legal basis for the decree is contained in the Legge comunitaria 2008, the annual statute enacted by the Italian Parliament to bring national law into line with EU law. The legislature afforded the Italian Government wide latitude in transposing the AVMSD, as the Parliament restrained itself to opting in favour of product placement. The Government, in turn, has taken advantage of the leeway granted by the Italian legislature, as...

The BBC Trust, which approves new BBC ventures, has conditionally approved Project Canvas. This is an open joint venture between the BBC and five other partners, including the other UK public service broadcasters, to develop a common standard permitting a viewer with a broadband connection to watch on-demand services, such as BBC iPlayer, the ITV Player and other internet content, on a television set. The content will be accessed through a set-top box attached to the internet; no subscription will be payable except for the broadband connection. The Trust conducted a public value assessment of the...