About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

16 Info. & Comm. Tech. L. 1 (2007)

handle is hein.journals/infctel16 and id is 1 raw text is: Information & Communications Technology Law, Routledge Vol. 16, No. 1, March 2007 RTayor&FrncisGroup Television on the Internet: Regulating New Ways of Viewing CHRISTINE COOPER Pupil Barrister, Field Court Chambers ABSTRACT Television has become ingrained in our modern way of life. Governments across the world have recognised this and sought to control what may be broadcast and what different audiences may watch. These regulatory regimes have been focused on the traditional television set. However, the Internet has begun to threaten this established order as new ways of viewing audio-visual content have become available and legal systems have not easily accommodated these new developments. Government policy in the United Kingdom is not to regulate Internet content in order to encourage the development of compelling new content services. However, the drafting of the legislative measures intended to give effect to that policy are potentially flawed. They appear to bring some television content on the Internet within the scope of broadcast regulation, but without any means for the content service provider to acquire the appropriate licence. TV Licensing has recently brought the issue to the fore by declaring that a licence is required to watch television on the Internet. If a television licence is required to watch a particular programme on the Internet, then surely a licence was required to broadcast that programme? In this article, it is argued that the Communications Act must be interpreted such that no Internet content is subject to its provisions. The Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations must also be interpreted so that a viewer only requires a licence where the broadcast signal has been captured and converted. Finally, while it is difficult to support a position that subjects two organisations showing the same programme content to different requirements solely as a result of the transmission technology used, the European Commission's proposals to unify the regulatory field are unlikely to achieve what they set out to do. I believe that what is going on here is not a revolution as some had predicted, but it is a gentle, gradual, evolving, historic act of liberation. The liberty of consumers, viewers, listeners, to determine their own viewing, their own listening, their own schedule, their own compilations, their own content, and even their own services. (Richards, 2005) Introduction Over the last fifty or so years, television has become ingrained in our modem way of life. It provides many people with their primary, if not sole, source of news and information about current affairs. This medium has the power to convey messages in ways that touch people and change their lives. Not surprisingly, governments ISSN 1360-0834 print/ISSN 1469-8404 online/ 07/ 010001-15 © Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/13600830701194497

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most