Legal Information Services from the European Audiovisual Observatory Protection of Minors Order: and Audiovisual Content • online at http://www.obs.coe.int/about/order • by email: [email protected] • by fax: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 19 20126 On-Demand IRIS Newsletter The IRIS Newsletter is a topical and reliable monthly information service covering all legal developments in Europe relating to the audiovisual sector. IRIS covers all areas of law relevant LEAD ARTICLE Legal Observations to the audiovisual sector. The main emphasis of the IRIS articles is on legal developments in of the European Audiovisual the fi fty or so countries that make up greater Europe. IRIS reports on media legislation in the The Protection of Minors in the Case Observatory broadest sense, as well as major developments in case law, important administrative decisions, of New (Non-Linear) Media and policy decisions which will potentially affect legislation in this fi eld. European Legal Rules and their National Transposition and Application Online, free of charge! A free subscription and the complete IRIS newsletter are available from the IRIS website: http://merlin.obs.coe.int/newsletter.php Background and challenges EU legal rules on youth protection IRIS plus Legal, technological or economic developments in the audiovisual sector generate immediate The treatment of on-demand audiovisual services in national law priority information needs for professionals. IRIS plus identifi es these issues and provides the and the relevant youth protection systems A legal hot topic examined relevant legal background. It features a combination of a lead article, related reporting and from different angles a Zoom section, comprising overview tables, market data or practical information. This brand Conclusion new format provides you with the knowledge to follow and join in the latest and most relevant discussions concerning the audiovisual sector. For more information: http://www.obs.coe.int/irisplus RELATED REPORTING An Operational Protection of Minors IRIS Merlin The IRIS Merlin database enables you to access nearly 6,000 articles reporting on legal events of relevance to the audiovisual industry. These articles describe relevant laws, decisions of various Spain Albania Database on legal information courts and administrative authorities, and policy documents from over 50 countries. They also Finland Bulgaria relevant to the audiovisual report on legal instruments, decisions and policy documents of major European and interna- sector in Europe tional institutions. Italy Czech Republic Free access at: http://merlin.obs.coe.int Romania France United States IRIS Special The themes chosen for our IRIS Special publications are all topical issues in media law, which we explore from a legal perspective. IRIS Special publications offer detailed surveys of ZOOM Comprehensive factual relevant national legislation facilitating the comparison of the legal frameworks in differ- information coupled ent countries, they identify and analyse highly relevant issues and outline the European Additional Youth Protection Measures in the European Union – with in-depth analysis or international legal context that infl uences national legislation. IRIS Special publications Filters, Children’s Networks, Media Literacy explore their legal themes in an extremely accessible way. You don’t have to be a lawyer to read them! Every edition combines a high level of practical relevance with academic Protection of Minors against Information Detrimental rigour. to their Health and Development in the Russian Federation For a list of all IRIS Specials, see: http://www.obs.coe.int/oea_publ/iris_special/index.html IRIS plus 2012-6 Protection of Minors and Audiovisual Content On-Demand 24,50 € - ISBN 978-92-871-7615-8 IRIS plus 2012-6 Protection of Minors and Audiovisual Content On-Demand ISBN (Print Edition): 978-92-871-7615-8 ISBN (PDF-Electronic Edition): 978-92-871-7618-9 Price: EUR 24,50 Price: EUR 33 European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg 2012 IRIS plus Publication Series ISSN (Print Edition): 2078-9440 ISSN (PDF-Electronic Edition): 2079-1062 Price: EUR 95 Price: EUR 125 Information services Director of the Publication: Wolfgang Closs, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory for the audiovisual sector E-mail: [email protected] Editor and Coordinator: It is the task of the European Audiovisual Observatory to improve transparency in the Dr Susanne Nikoltchev, LL.M. (Florence/Italy, Ann Arbor/MI) audiovisual sector in Europe. It does this by collecting, processing and publishing up-to-date Head of the Department for Legal Information E-mail: [email protected] information about the various industries concerned. Editorial Assistant: The Observatory has adopted a pragmatic defi nition of the audiovisual sector in which it works. Michelle Ganter Its principal areas of interest are fi lm, television, video/DVD, on-demand audiovisual media E-mail: [email protected] services and public policy on fi lm and television. In these fi ve areas, the Observatory provides information in the legal fi eld as well as information about the markets and fi nancing. As Marketing: far as its geographical scope is concerned, the Observatory monitors, records and analyses Markus Booms E-mail: [email protected] developments in its member states. In addition, data on non-European countries is also made available when judged appropriate. The various stages involved in providing information Typesetting: include the systematic collection and processing of data as well as its fi nal distribution to Pointillés, Hoenheim (France) our users in the form of print publications, information on-line, databases and directories, and Print: our contributions to conferences and workshops. The Observatory’s work draws extensively Pointillés, Hoenheim (France) on international and national information sources and their contributions of relevant Conseil de l’Europe, Strasbourg (France) information. The Observatory Information Network was established for this purpose. It is composed of partner organisations and institutions, professional information suppliers and Cover Layout: selected correspondents. The Observatory’s primary target groups are professionals working Acom Europe, Paris (France) within the audiovisual sector: producers, distributors, exhibitors, broadcasters and other Publisher: media service providers, international organisations in this fi eld, decision-makers within the European Audiovisual Observatory various public bodies responsible for the media, national and European legislators, journalists, 76 Allée de la Robertsau researchers, lawyers, investors and consultants. F-67000 Strasbourg Tel.: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 00 The European Audiovisual Observatory was established in December 1992 and is part of the Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 19 Council of Europe thanks to its status as a “partial and enlarged agreement”. Its offi ces are E-mail: [email protected] www.obs.coe.int in Strasbourg, France. The Observatory’s membership currently comprises 39 European States and the European Union, which is represented by the European Commission. Each member appoints one representative to its board, the Executive Council. An Executive Director heads the international Observatory team. The Observatory’s products and services are divided into Contributing Partner Institutions: four groups: í Publications Institute of European Institute for Moscow Media Law Media Law (EMR) Information Law (IViR) and Policy Center í Information on-line Franz-Mai-Straße 6 Kloveniersburgwal 48 Moscow State University D-66121 Saarbrücken NL-1012 CX Amsterdam ul. Mokhovaya, 9 - Room 338 í Databases and directories Tel.: +49 (0) 681 99 275 11 Tel.: +31 (0) 20 525 34 06 125009 Moscow í Conferences and workshops Fax: +49 (0) 681 99 275 12 Fax: +31 (0) 20 525 30 33 Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +7 495 629 3804 www.emr-sb.de www.ivir.nl Fax: +7 495 629 3804 www.medialaw.ru European Audiovisual Observatory 76 Allée de la Robertsau – F-67000 Strasbourg – France Tel: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 00 – Fax: +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 19 www.obs.coe.int – E-mail: [email protected] Please quote this publication as: IRIS plus 2012-6, Protection of Minors and Audiovisual Content On-Demand, (Susanne Nikoltchev (Ed.), European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg 2012) © European Audiovisual Observatory, 2012 Opinions expressed in this publication are personal and do not necessarily represent the views of the Observatory, its members or the Council of Europe. 2012-6 p.1 Protection of Minors and Audiovisual Content On-Demand © 2012, European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg (France) 2012-6 p.3 Foreword On-demand services with audiovisual content are continuing to be more and more popular among users. One of the world’s best known platforms is no doubt YouTube, which, according to Matthew Glotzbach, the company’s EMEA Managing Director, currently has 800 million users a month who upload 72 hours of fi lm material every minute and watch videos totalling 4 billion hours every month (figures quoted from www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/ Medienwoche-Sender-und-Google-kaempfen-um-die-TV-Hoheit-1697883.html). As can be gathered from the European Commission’s First Report on the application of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (COM(2012) 203 fi nal), there are a wide variety of video-on-demand (VoD) services, such as television broadcasters’ catch-up TV offerings, which normally enable viewers to access via their websites (a selection of) audiovisual content for up to seven days after it has been aired. In addition, programmes stored on a continuous basis, or at least for a long period, are available from broadcasters’ media libraries. In most cases, these services can be used free of charge because private providers in particular fi nance them through revenues from commercial communications. More and more paid video services are being introduced, including offerings like Netflix, LOVEFiLM or HBO Nordic, the launch of which was announced in early September 2012. Comparable to the traditional renting of a video cassette or DVD from a video rental shop, the user downloads a video fi le that can be watched within a specified timeframe.