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On 12 October 2012 the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) announced the outcome of consultations on the revision of the General and Children’s Commercial Communications Codes (see IRIS 2011-7/29). The revised Codes will deal, in particular, with the approach to be taken to products that are high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). The BAI is required under section 42 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 to develop advertising codes to protect the general public health interests of children and may prohibit the advertising in a broadcasting service of a particular class or classes of foods. Prior to the...

On 20 November 2012 the European Parliament adopted, by a large majority, a resolution inviting the member states of the European Union to step up their protection of children on the Internet. The Council of the European Union presented its conclusions on the subject in December 2011, and the European Commission presented a report on protecting children in the digital world (see IRIS 2011-9/8). The European Parliament Resolution was adopted on the date of the 53^rd anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The main areas for consideration presented in the Parliament’s...

Following the amendments to the Italian AVMS Code introduced in July 2012 by the Legislative Decree no. 120/2012 (see IRIS 2012-8/32) and pursuant to the new Article 34 of the Code, regarding the protection of minors, Agcom adopted on 4 October 2012 a deliberation establishing a technical board to adopt, through co-regulation procedures, the technical measures regarding the protection of minors on VOD services, to prevent them from viewing content that “might seriously impair” the physical, mental or moral development of minors; these are considered to be, in particular, programmes that involve...

On 3 October 2012, the UK’s Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) ruled against Channel Four Television for its posters advertising its documentary based on the film My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. The posters featured the words "Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier" over an image of a young boy looking directly at the camera and others of two teenagers wearing low-cut bra tops and three young girls dressed for their first Holy Communion standing in front of a caravan. The ASA, on advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission reviewed the matter in light of the provisions of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising,...

On 29 June 2012, the Austrian Verfassungsgerichtshof (Constitutional Court - VfGH) ruled that the disclosure of the owner of an IP address to the security authorities under Articles 53(3a)(2) and (3) of the Austrian Sicherheitspolizeigesetz (Security Police Act - SPG) did not breach either the secrecy of telecommunications or the right to data protection. The plaintiff had given the impression on an Internet chat site that he was offering under-age children (“7-11 year olds, or even younger if required”) for sex. The Vienna police authorities were informed and took immediate steps to ascertain,...