IRIS 2015-1 INTERNATIONAL IE-Ireland Radio Presenter Violated Broadcasting Code by Express- COUNCIL OF EUROPE ing View on Same-Sex Marriage Referendum........... ..20 European Court of Human Rights: Matúz v. Hungary ... ... 4 New Freedom of Information Law ...................... ..20 Committee of Ministers: Reply to Parliamentary Assem- bly’s Call to Revise the European Convention on Trans- LT-Lithuania frontier Television...................................... ...5 Lithuania Bans Advertising in LRT Programmes ........ ..21 EUROPEAN UNION LU-Luxembourg Court of Justice of the European Union: Embedding Hy- Regulator Imposes Warning on RTL for Breach of Rules perlinks to Legal Content Does Not Constitute Copyright on Protection of Minors over Syrian War Coverage ..... ..22 Infringement .......................................... ...5 Council of the EU: Conclusions on European Audiovisual MK-"the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia" Policy in the Digital Era ................................ ...6 Amendments to the Act on Public Procurement ........ ..22 European Commission: Progress Report on Film Her- itage Digitisation ...................................... ...6 MT-Malta Consultation Document on the Broadcasting Code for NATIONAL the Protection of Minors ............................... ..23 AL-Albania NL-Netherlands Parliament Elects Chair and Two Members of the Regu- Dutch Musician Ordered to Remove Music Video from lator ................................................... ...7 YouTube Containing Threats to Politician ............... ..24 Broadcasting Regulator Imposes a EUR 160,000 Penalty BG-Bulgaria on Disney for Exceeding the Maximum Advertising Time..25 CEM Report on the 2014 National Parliament Elections. ... 8 Dutch Minister Prolongs Private Copy Levy System and Regulator publishes activity report for first half of 2014 ... 9 Lowers Levy in Response to CJEU Ruling ............... ..25 State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science Pub- CH-Switzerland lishes Plans for the Future of the Dutch Public Broad- More flexibility for regional radio and TV stations ...... ... 9 casting System ........................................ ..26 Report of the Dutch Media Authority on the Effect of the DE-Germany New Dutch Must-Carry Rules.............................26 Federal Constitutional Court rejects excessive demands on applicants requesting temporary legal protection in RO-Romania relation to information requests made under freedom of Government Decision on Financing TVR Studios Abroad ..27 the press rules...........................................10 Federal Administrative Court grants press the right to RU-Russian Federation names of people involved in court proceedings ........ ..11 New Act to Counteract Piracy Online .....................28 Stuttgart district court allows broadcast of illegally- made film recordings under public right to information. ..11 TR-Turkey LMK appeals to Constitutional Court against BVerwG de- Constitutional Court Overturns Recent Amendments to cision on “Hasseröder Männercamp”.....................12 the Internet Act..........................................28 ES-Spain AL-Albania Partial Reform of the Spanish Intellectual Property Act . ..12 Legal disputes over a tender for digital networks of the New Electronic Communications Services Tax to Boost public broadcaster .......................................29 the Catalan Audiovisual Sector and Digital Cultural Pro- Parliament elects five members of the Steering Council motion ................................................ ..13 of the Public Broadcaster .............................. ..30 FR-France CZ-Czech Republic Conseil d’État confirms two decisions by Private Copy Amendment of the Copyright Act ...................... ..30 Committee ............................................ ..14 LV-Latvia French IAPs ordered to block access to Pirate Bay sites ..14 Court finds against virtually unaltered take-up of a legal Amendments to the Latvian Electronic Media Law ..... ..31 case in a reality law TV programme......................15 MK-"the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia" Conditions for copyright protection of a television pro- gramme .................................................16 New regulation on broadcasting of European audiovi- New CSA deliberation on right to short excerpts of sport sual Works and Works of independent producers....... ..32 competitions .......................................... ..17 BG-Bulgaria Changes in support for production of documentaries... ..17 Supreme Administrative Court sets aside Competition GB-United Kingdom Commission’s decision...................................32 Competition Appeal Tribunal allows BT to Transmit Sky BY-Belarus Sports 1 and 2 on its Platform as an Interim Measure .. ..18 Amendments to the media law allow for control of on- New Rules on the Marketing of E-Cigarettes............ ..19 line content..............................................33 Editorial Informations Tel.: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 10; E-mail: [email protected] Publisher: Translations: European Audiovisual Observatory 76, allée de la Robertsau Michelle Ganter, European Audiovisual Observatory (co- F-67000 STRASBOURG ordination) Brigitte Auel France Courrèges Paul Green Tél. : +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 00 Fax : +33 (0) 3 90 21 60 19 Elena Mihaylova Katherine Parsons Marco Polo Sàrl E-mail: [email protected] www.obs.coe.int Stefan Pooth Roland Schmid Nathalie Sturlèse Comments and Contributions to: Corrections: [email protected] Michelle Ganter, European Audiovisual Observatory (co- Executive Director: ordination) Sophie Valais et Francisco Javier Cabrera Susanne Nikoltchev Blázquez, European Audiovisual Observatory Ronan Fahy, Editorial Board: Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Maja Cappello, Editor Francisco Javier Cabrera Blázquez, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) Barbara Grokenberger Sophie Valais, Deputy Editors (European Audiovisual Amélie Lépinard, Master - International and European Affairs, Observatory) Université de Pau (France) Julie Mamou Annabel Brody Michael Botein, The Media Center at the New York Law School Daniel Bittmann, Institute of European Media Law (EMR), (USA) Media Division of the Directorate of Human Rights of Saarbrücken (Germany) the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (France) Andrei Richter, Distribution: Faculty of Journalism, Moscow State University (Russian Markus Booms, European Audiovisual Observatory Federation) Peter Matzneller, Institute of European Media Tel.: Law (EMR), Saarbrücken (Germany) Harald Trettenbrein, +33 (0)3 90 21 60 06; Directorate General EAC-C-1 (Audiovisual Policy Unit) of E-mail: [email protected] the European Commission, Brussels (Belgium) Tarlach Web Design: McGonagle, Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the Coordination: Cyril Chaboisseau, European Audiovisual University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) Observatory Development and Integration: www.logidee.com Council to the Editorial Board: Layout: www.acom-europe.com and www.logidee.com Amélie Blocman, Victoires Éditions ISSN 2078-6158 Documentation/Press Contact: 2015 European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg Alison Hindhaugh (France) journalists who had publicly criticised the public tele- INTERNATIONAL vision broadcaster’s management. The relevant criteria regarding the balancing of the COUNCIL OF EUROPE right to freedom of expression of a person bound by professional confidentiality against the right of em- ployers to manage their staff have been laid down in the Court’s case-law since its Grand Chamber judg- European Court of Human Rights: Matúz v. ment in the case of Guja v. Moldova (§§74-78) (see Hungary IRIS 2008-6/1). These criteria are: (a) public interest involved in the disclosed information; (b) authenticity of the information disclosed; (c) the damage, if any, suffered by the authority as a result of the disclosure In its judgment in the case of Matúz v. Hungary, the in question; (d) the motive behind the actions of the European Court of Human Rights confirmed the im- reporting employee; (e) whether, in the light of the portance of whistleblower protection, in this case for duty of discretion owed by an employee toward his or a journalist who alarmed public opinion regarding cen- her employer, the information was made public as a sorship within the public broadcasting organisation in last resort, following disclosure to a superior or other Hungary. The case concerned the dismissal of a tele- competent body; and (f) the severity of the sanction vision journalist, Gábor Matúz, working for the State imposed. The Court emphasised that the content of television company Magyar Televízió Zrt., after hav- the book essentially concerned a matter of public in- ing revealed several instances of alleged censorship terest and it confirmed that it was not in dispute that by one of his superiors. the documents published by Matúz were authentic Matúz first contacted the television company’s pres- and that his comments had a factual basis. The Court ident and sent a letter to its board, informing them also noted that the journalist had included the con- that the cultural director’s conduct in modifying and fidential documents in the book with no other inten- cutting certain programme content amounted to cen- tion than to corroborate his arguments on censorship sorship. A short time later, an article appeared in and that there was no appearance of any gratuitous the online version of a Hungarian daily newspaper, personal attack either (par. 46). Furthermore, the de- containing similar allegations