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UK Government Moots Regulation of Broadband IPTV Online Television Services

Posted: 20th Jan, 2011 By: MarkJ
online tv regulation ukThe UK Minister for Culture, Jeremy Hunt, has hinted that the government might be about to crackdown on online broadband ISP based television (TV) content through tighter regulation, specifically the new generation of IPTV services rather than YouTube.

Jeremy Hunt told the Oxford Television Convention:

"I pose the question as to the way we regulate the internet compared to the way we regulate traditional broadcasting. Today they are completely different and maybe we have to accept that difference. But maybe we can bridge that gap.

I am prepared to radically rethink the way we do things. To take a fresh look at what we regulate, whether we regulate and how we regulate. To consider whether there are areas we might move out of regulation altogether. This is not about tweaking the current system, but redesigning it."

Tony Ballard, a partner at media and entertainment law firm Harbottle & Lewis, says Hunt is "wrong" if, as reported, he is considering a crackdown on online television, apparently in the belief it is not currently regulated.

Harbottle & Lewis Partner, Tony Ballard, told ISPreview.co.uk:

"What Hunt is reported as saying apart from his speech (Jan 19) is just plain wrong. Under the AVMS Directive, linear services on the internet are subject to full broadcast regulation, and on-demand services, if they are TV-like, are subject to some content regulation including some protection for children.

The real point that emerges from his speech and the reported comments from senior regulators - that they are going to look again at whether content should be regulated without regard to the method of delivery - will exasperate some European countries.

The Labour government campaigned against extending content regulation to the internet on the basis that is was impractical and damaging to the international competitiveness of European TV services."

However, even Hunt himself admits that it would be impossible to introduce blanket regulation for internet based TV services, although he still believes that it should be put under scrutiny. Some may find the move to be bizarre at a time when true IPTV services in the UK are still practically none existent.

General online video sharing sites, such as YouTube, also appear to have been explicitly ruled out from any future review of internet TV regulations.
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