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The Digital Economy Act 2017 includes provisions requiring that age verification measures be put in place for pornographic websites. If pornography is made available on a commercial basis without such measures, the publisher will become liable to a number of penalties, including fines and requiring Internet service providers to block access, including access to other material of the publisher (IRIS 2017-117). The UK Government has now taken steps to designate the regulator responsible for implementing and enforcing these provisions: the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The Board is...

At the end of September, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) accepted an amendment to the Rating Criteria of Content that is unfavourable for or threatens to impair the physical, mental, moral and/or social development of children regarding cinematographic works (See: IRIS 2012-2:1/10). The CEM announced them recently. The following differentiations have been made: - Cinematographic works, films and series, and other audiovisual works, which are not recommended for children under 12 years of age, may be broadcasted throughout the whole duration of media service providers' programmes.- Cinematographic...

On 19 September 2017, the draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the roles and responsibilities of Internet intermediaries was finalised by the Committee of experts on Internet intermediaries (MSI-NET). The draft Recommendation has now been sent to the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDSMI) for approval. The MSI-NET was established by the Committee of Ministers in 2016 to prepare, under the supervision of the CDSMI, standard-setting proposals on the roles and responsibilities of Internet intermediaries. The Recommendation begins by confirming...

On 17 October 2017, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued a reply to the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Recommendation 2098 (2017) on “Ending cyberdiscrimination and online hate” (see IRIS 2017-3/4). In its reply, the Committee of Ministers mainly referred to the PACE requests concerning the reviewing and updating of several policy instruments concerning hate speech, intermediaries and the media. With regard to the PACE’s request for the Committee of Ministers to review Recommendation 97(20) on hate speech (see 1997-10/4), the Committee reiterates that the definition of hate...

On 2 October 2017, the Italian Government released the draft of three legislative decrees implementing the reform of the legal framework on cinema and audiovisual services started last year (see IRIS 2017-1/23). The new decrees concern the promotion of European and Italian works by audiovisual media service providers; the protection of minors; and employment in the audiovisual sector. Further to the government’s preliminary approval, the draft decrees will be submitted to parliamentary committees, the Council of State and the State-Regions Conference in order to seek relevant opinions; the deadline...