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On 26 May 2014, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) launched a public consultation on Draft Revised Access Rules for Irish television broadcasters. The draft Rules will update the current Access Rules in place since 2005 and last reviewed in 2012 (IRIS 2012-7/28). The Rules determine the levels of subtitling (including captioning), sign language and audio description that broadcasters will be required to provide; they apply to certain broadcasters within the State but do not apply to broadcast services commonly received in Ireland but licensed in other jurisdictions. Section 41(3)(c) of...

On 10 April 2014 two new (complementary) acts were adopted in Belgium that amend the Criminal Code in order to protect minors against solicitation for sexual purposes through ICT (information and communication technologies) ‘grooming’, on the one hand, and ‘cyberluring’ (‘cyberlokken’), on the other hand. The first act introduces a new article 377quater in the Criminal Code, which criminalises the proposal, through information and communication technologies, of an adult to meet a child who has not reached the age of 16, for the purpose of committing any of the offences established in the sections...

On 15 January 2014 Apple Inc. (“Apple”) agreed to settle a complaint with The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that Apple violated the FTC Act by failing to tell parents that they were approving an in-app purchase and 15 minutes of additional unlimited purchases by simply entering a password. The complaint was triggered by complaints the FTC had received from parents for in-app charges that were incurred by children that were either accidental or not authorized. Under the terms of the agreement, Apple will provide full refunds to consumers for charges incurred by children that were either accidental...

In a decision published on 3 March 2014, Ofcom found that public sector broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), had breached the Ofcom Rules 1.3 and 2.3; namely inappropriate scheduling and a risk of being seen by children, and containing potentially offensive material, by broadcasting a current affairs programme depicting graphic scenes of physical and sexual violence arising during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Under the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.: Rule 1.3 states: “Children must be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for them”; Rule 2.3 states; “In...

On 6 May 2014, Ofcom found Channel 5 in breach of its guidelines, after the broadcaster repeated a risqué episode of the reality show Celebrity Big Brother, in which housemates talked freely about their sexual experiences, during a time when children were watching. Five viewers complained to the watchdog, after the show, which also involved celebrities making “rude food”, was rebroadcast on a Sunday (morning) at 11.30 am. Ofcom said that BARB (Broadcasters Audience Review Board) viewing figures revealed that out of 290,000 viewers, 33,500 had been aged 16 or under, including 8,800 children aged...