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On 18 March 2009, the Flemish Parliament officially approved the text of the new media decree, which primarily aims at transposing the Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2007/65/EC into regional law. Following this final approval, only publication in the Belgisch Staatsblad (Belgian Monitor), which is expected in a short time, is necessary so as to make the new Flemish decree legally binding. As the French Community also already adopted a decree in pursuance of Directive 2007/65/EC on 5 February 2009 (published in the Belgian Monitor on 18 March 2009), Belgium is proving itself to be one of the...

On 12 March 2009, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on the protection of consumers, in particular minors, in respect of the use of video games. This non-legislative resolution deals with the restriction of the sale or banning of video games, which falls within the area of Member State competence. It does not propose particular EU-wide legislation. The Members of Parliament (MEPs) derive their considerations from a report drafted by Toine Manders, rapporteur of the political group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). The report stresses that video games have a value...

In the battle against child pornography on the Internet, the Federal Ministry for Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Young People (BMFSFJ) is calling on Germany's largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to enter into voluntary agreements. According to the BMFSFJ, the ISPs should sign voluntary agreements promising to block foreign child pornography sites by the end of February 2009. For this purpose, the Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Criminal Police Office - BKA) would give the ISPs a "blocking list". The ISPs could then use the list to block web servers from countries in which either child pornography...

At the beginning of March 2009 Tržni inšpektorat (the Slovenian Market Inspectorate) published a report on its activities in the year 2008. The report does not mention the problematic issue of advertisements for “porno chic” content on the internet, accessed via mobile phones and targeted at children, which could on their own or indirectly, by the promoted internet content, impair the physical and mental condition of children. But, in the report there is reference to a provision on misleading and indecent advertising of the Zakon o varstvu potrošnikov (Consumer Protection Act); concerning which...

In April 2007 the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (audiovisual regulatory authority - CSA) called for a charter to set the framework for the participation of minors in television broadcasts (see IRIS 2007-6: 11). A charter has now been drawn up, and the CSA published the text on 22 January 2009. It applies to broadcasts other than cinematographic and audiovisual works of fiction, and will be appended to the authorisations signed by those in parental authority. As the CSA recalls, “in order to take into account the particular sensitivity and vulnerability of minors and to respect the child’s...