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On 26 June 1997, the United States Supreme Court ("Court") struck down as unconstitutional sections 223(a)(1)(B) and 223(a)(2) as well as 223(d)(1) and 223(d)(2) of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 ("CDA"), which was enacted by Congress to restrict indecent, sexually oriented materials from being displayed to minors over the Internet. The decision in Reno v. ACLU was the first time the Court considered free speech rights in cyberspace (see IRIS 1996-7: 7). Section 223(a) prohibits the transmission of obscene or indecent material on the Internet where there is knowledge that the recipient...

The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have finally adopted the new text of the "Television without Frontiers" directive, the main objective of which is to create the conditions necessary for the free movement of television broadcasts. Directive 97/36/EC, modifying Directive 89/552/EEC "Television without Frontiers" of 3 October 1989 was adopted on (the exact date will be published in the September issue of IRIS (issue No 1997-8) since at the closing date of this issue the President of the European Parliament was still to sign), at the end of two years of intensive negotiations between...

The new Broadcasting Standards Commission has published its first research report. The Commission was created out of the merger (under the Broadcasting Act 1996) of the Broadcasting Standards Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission on 1 April 1997. The study looks at public attitudes to media regulation in a changing social climate. It was undertaken by the Commission as part of a wider consultation on its new role combining standards and fairness in broadcasting. The research based on two national surveys and 14 focus groups also addresses the issue of privacy. In general, the respondents...

The Nordic Information Center for Media and Communication Research (Nordicom) has set up an international clearinghouse on children and violence on the screen. The Clearinghouse receives financial support from the Government of Sweden and UNESCO. Its objective is to inform researchers, policymakers, media professionals, teachers, voluntary organisations and interested individuals on: - research findings concerning children, young people and media violence; - ongoing research on children and media violence; - children's access to mass media and on their media use; - available training on children...

Two reports have been published in Sweden concerning the freedom of expression and the possible abuse of it. One of the reports proposes to apply the rules on freedom of expression also to the new media. It suggests that this freedom should cover all expressions, more generally referred to as "technical recordings". The other report deals with child pornography and it proposes that such pornography should be considered criminal offence. It is suggested that the Criminal Code should prohibit all production, transfer, licensing or showing of child pornography, as well as buying such material and...