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Traditional rules won't work
for internet television says Ofcom
Telly troubles
Dinah Greek, Computeractive 06 May 2005
Ofcom has said it would be impossible for it to effectively police
television content streamed over the internet and this job must rest
with the individual viewer.
The warning from the communications watchdog comes after proposals
from Brussels aim to make media regulators such as Ofcom responsible
for keeping television content on the internet clean.
Both live and recorded television content is already available on the
internet. Using the internet and especially broadband to deliver
programmes gives content providers and broadcasters new ways of
offering new services to their customers, such as programmes on
demand.
But under a revamp of the Television without Frontiers directive, the
European Union has suggested that in the same way regulators monitor
and rule on television programmes for taste and decency, they should
regulate internet broadcast content.
Currently, a complaint to Ofcom about harm and offence in a television
programme would be investigated by the regulator, and if the
broadcaster was in breach, this would trigger regulatory action. But
Ofcom said trying to regulate the myriad new services and technologies
delivering television such as broadband or 3G couldn't be done using
the traditional methods.
It pointed out it currently did not have the necessary powers to
regulate television content accessible via the internet. Ofcom said
the proposals also didn't take into account different laws and
interpretations of laws in other countries
"Parliament has decided in the Communications Act that Ofcom should
have no remit over internet content. I believe this was the right
outcome for today's environment. Ofcom has no role to play
whatsoever,? said David Currie, Ofcom's chairman.
The proposals have also concerned internet service providers who don?t
believe it is their job to act as monitors of people?s viewing habits
and believe such laws would not be feasible to enforce.
"The need for consumer protection is evident [but] the issue could run
into areas of censorship, a can of worms that Ofcom would surely
prefer to avoid opening - where would the line then be drawn? Begin
regulating internet content and do you then have to regulate
internet-based phone conversations?," said Steve Harris of the UK
Internet Forum.
Ofcom said it is in favour of a mix of existing laws such as obsencity
and copyright and protection for children. The industry as a whole has
a duty to provide 'safe havens'. But this had to be combined with
greater consumer internet literacy because ultimately said Ofcom, the
regulators would ultimately have to be the viewers themselves blocking
content they personally were unhappy with.
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