Television Without Frontiers…
I agree with Monica’s post (below) concerning the proposed TV Without Frontiers revision, particularly her concerns with respect to the jurisdiction question. Really, the EC’s proposals are over-regulatory and short-sighted in nearly every respect. I was tempted to do a very long post on this issue, but decided to simply put forth a few claims about the EC’s proposal (or rebuttals of EC claims about the proposed revisions), which I’m willing to defend or explain further:
* The revised directive is not technologically neutral and not ‘future proof’.
* If it is adopted in its current form, legal uncertainty will increase, not decrease.
* The proposed revisions will not better protect minors, European culture, consumers, etc.
Obviously, I’m not alone here… the U.K. new media / content industries are on record opposing this EC move. Good for them. I wonder if they have enough political clout to convince the U.K. government to oppose this poor EC policy move more aggressively?
It’s always fun watching Ofcom, but even more fun watching the EC InfoSoc. Under Viviane Reding’s leadership, InfoSoc has had two recent debacles: (i) the WSIS internet governance confusion and (ii) these ill-considered proposed revisions to the TVWF Directive. Does she have anything else in the works?
