EPC media alerts: October 2010
Your monthly EU media issues update direct from Europe's leading publishers
The following document is a regularly updated schedule of EU Media issues of interest to the EPC in order to give advance warning to journalists covering EU media issues. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information: heidilambert@hlcltd.demon.co.uk.
Dates for the diary
25 October, Brussels: EPC to present contribution to the stakeholders meeting, “Digital Agenda – the Big Idea.” EPC document available on request.
26 October, Brussels: Communication due for revision of Data Protection Directive
27 October, Brussels: Internal Market Committee vote on Juvin report on advertising and unfair commercial practices
28 October, Brussels: EPC attending Public Hearing: "Comité des Sages" on Bringing Europe's cultural heritage online.
November Communication on airline passenger name records
November EP vote on Consumer Directive proposal
9 November ACT annual conference, TV2020 a Digital Agenda for Creative Content, Brussels, Belgium, www.acte.be
10-11 November European Parliament Session, Brussels
18 November: Public hearing "A future European sports policy.”
22 November Plenary vote on Belet Report (Broadcasting) and on Juvin Report (Advertising)
22-25 November European Parliament Plenary Session, Strasburg
30 November European data protection and privacy conference www.eu-ems.com/summary.asp?event_id=62&page_id=421
9 Dec Europe and Cultural heritage : a challenge – Towards a European Cultural Heritage Strategy, Bruges
14 Dec EP Plenary vote, medicinal products
15 Dec Deadline for consultation on EC culture programme
End 2010 Framework directive on collecting societies expected
7-8 June 2011 CISAC World Copyright Summit, Brussels
Fact sheets on key current, live issues can be found at:
http://www.epceurope.org/factsheets
More detail
Copyright: EPC's big idea
25 October - EPC is to present its contribution to the stakeholders meeting, “Digital Agenda – the Big Idea.”
The EPC’s tenet is that copyright law is entirely fit for the new digital environment but, in the face of those who have a commercial interest in seeing an end to this law, we need to embrace the fact that copyright has been an engine for creation over the past three centuries and new ways of managing it in the digital age need to be found. The EPC goes on to describe the various technological solutions to the e-copyright problem and to propose a new machine-readable digital copyright symbol equivalent to the ©. The EPC’s ideas will be fed into all EU digital Europe policy work and debate. A copy of full document is available on request.
The EPC and EPC members, where appropriate, have also responded to a mini consultation by the Commission's Reflection Group ("Comité des Sages") on digitisation and how best to foster the online presence of cultural heritage. The document seeks views and ideas on acceptable exploitation models for content digitised with public funding, on how to bring more copyrighted material online. The EPC will attend the Public Hearing: "Comité des Sages" on Bringing Europe's cultural heritage online in Brussels on 28 October.
Data protection and privacy
Outline of Data Protection directive revision due this month
Commissioner Reding has announced that an outline for the revision of the present Data Protection Directive will be presented by the Commission this month (October 2010), possibly on 26 October, in order to "strengthen individuals' rights and enhance the Internal Market dimension of data protection." It is already known that the revision is likely to include a more strict application of transparency for a "full, easily accessible and easy to understand information on how personal data is being processed."
Commissioner Reding has also said that data transferred through the internet should be protected so there are likely to be new procedures to cover this.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Malmström has set out her vision on various upcoming issues that include data protection issues relating to security to the European Parliament and at a press conference.
A new Communication on the exchange of airline passenger records will be proposed next month and an internal security strategy launched in November that will build on the Stockholm Programme. This will look at cybercrime, organised crime, terrorism etc. and specify some strategic objectives. So far it appears that the Commission is quite clear that the data should only be used for "serious international crime" and proposes that this term should be defined.
Sports and sports rights
18 November: Public hearing "A future European sports policy.”
The following expert witnesses have been invited address this Public Hearing:
- Mr Patrick HICKEY, (IRL), President EOC (European Olympic Committee) or Mr. Folker HELLMUND (DE), Director EOC Brussels Office
- Mr Michele COLLUCCI (IT), Legal expert on sport
- Mr. Mogens KIRKEBY (DA), President of the International Sport & Culture Assocaition (ISCA).
- Mr William GAILLARD (F), UEFA, Senior Adviser to the UEFA President
The programme has been structured around the following key questions:
- What does the EU expect from sport organisations? (What can be defined as "good governance in sport" from an EU perspective?).
- What do sport organisations expect from the EU? (What is the right balance between EU recognition of the independence of sports organisations and EU support for them on policy questions and through funding?)
The EPC will be attending this hearing.
Advertising
27 October: EP Internal Market Committee vote on the Juvin report on the effectiveness and enforcement of the existing directive on unfair business practices
The non-legislative report by French centre right European People's Party Member Philippe Juvin looks at the effectiveness and enforcement of the existing directive concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices. It also identifies problems with certain practices on the internet related to misleading advertising like hidden advertising through blogs, forums, websites, and targeted advertising.
The report examines possible remedies in help the consumer "develop a critical attitude to the quality of media content". It asks the European Commission (which governs advertising rules) to devise information campaigns on consumer rights and to develop educational material explaining how consumers can protect their privacy on the internet. It also wants the words "behavioural advertisement" in relevant online advertisements and an analysis of the impact of misleading and aggressive advertising on children. The report also calls on the Commission to develop an EU advertising literacy programme for children.
The Commission has set up a special website on unfair commercial practices, presenting a black list of the practices and offering advice on how to get help.
Step 1 Seek advice - Confirm that your complaint is valid according to the law and that you have been a victim of an unfair commercial practice. It's best to contact your national consumer association or one of the advice centres of the ECC-Net to get their advice.
Step 2 File a complaint - Your national consumer protection authorities decide on complaints or to initiate appropriate legal proceedings. Based on your national laws, these authorities or the courts can order the cessation of the unfair commercial practices.
There will be a vote on the report in the Internal Market Committee on 27 October.
22 November Plenary vote on Belet Report (Broadcasting)
CULT Committee adopts Belet Report on Public Service Broadcasting in the digital era: the future of the dual system
The non-legally-binding, own-initiative report by the Belgian MEP Mr. Ivo Belet (EPP) that considers how to ensure the continued viability of the dual system of public and private broadcasting in the face of the disruption caused by the internet and digital technologies, has been adopted in the CULT Committee.
Amongst the aims of the report is to give broadcasters political support in their efforts to offer new forms of distributing content as well as new forms of online content: "lack of legal provisions in some Member States relating to public service broadcasting activities on the Internet could influence the sector’s ability to expand into new platforms."
The report also points out that public broadcasters should maintain a "public sphere" online, as a counterbalance to "increasing media concentration, the rise of vertically integrated media companies, a shift towards pay-services and encryption."
Another interesting point in the report is that "insists that the Commission should ensure the respect of the existing legal framework by content aggregators and invites the Commission to consider ways in which search engines and internet service providers could contribute to the financing of content creation." A proposition which practically means that search engines, internet service providers and other content aggregators could be bound to the same system of financing for original European audiovisual material that today applies to traditional media such as broadcasters!
The vote on the plenary is scheduled for the 22nd of November
14 Dec EP Plenary vote, medicinal products
An EP committee has adopted two reports on “information on medicinal products subject to medical prescription” both of which potentially impact on the media since many amendments had been tabled on advertising v information. Following successful communication by the EPC and others, the most damaging amendment – the proposal to ban all advertising for non-prescription medicines on television – was rejected.
The plenary votes on this issue in December following debate in Council on 6 December.
