The Directive on Privacy in Telecomms will become effective from 24 October this year; the Department of Trade and Industry is currently considering how to implement the Directive, which will mean telemarketing companies have to comply with extra legal requirements concerning targeting. The Directive is aimed at permitting members of the public to indicate that… Continue reading UK: Implementation of Telecoms Directive
The European Parliament has adopted the Mann report on electronic commerce and tele-shopping, voting in favour of a resolution which welcomed new initiatives to promote electronic trading. Industry Commissioner Martin Bangemann said that the question of taxation of transactions on the Internet had been raised and that the Commission would need to find a solution… Continue reading EU: Tele-shopping and commerce
The European Commission has sent to member state governments a draft agenda for the first meeting of the Expert Group on commercial communications, which will take place on 27 May 1998. A working paper on ‘The Regulation of Discounts in the Internal Market’ has also been distributed. The agenda – as expected – is largely… Continue reading EU: Expert Group assembles
The Senate has began to debate the Tobacco Bill, which gives considerable powers to the US Food & Drug Administration to control and restrict tobacco marketing. The Senate is almost certain to pass the proposed legislation, which will: ban free samples of merchandise bearing tobacco emblems ban tobacco advertising in magazines with either a large… Continue reading US: Senate debates Tobacco Bill
The EU’s Telecommunications Council has approved a plan to counteract illegal content on the Internet. The aim is to increase the use of screening mechanisms to filter out illegal content and thus protect children and minors. A campaign to raise awareness will be conducted among parents and teachers.
The all-party House of Commons select committee for culture, media and sport has called on the UK Government to create a Department of Communications, which would have responsibility for telecommunications, broadcasting, media, and the Internet, and would be overseen by a single Communications Regulation Commission, replacing all the existing statutory regulatory bodies.
Mirror Group’s share price this morning rose 22.5p to 240.5p after the disclosure that it is in takeover talks with German newspaper group Axel Springer. Springer has issued a statement saying that it is considering several opportunities, one of which is believed to be a takeover of the UK media group.The news immediately sparked off… Continue reading Mirror Shares Jump On Takeover Talk
A decision on the planned digital-TV joint venture between Kirch Group and CLT-Ufa, the two German media groups, may be delayed by the European Commission. The German media company Bertelsmann has a 40 per cent stake in CLT-Ufa, and confirmed that the two sides had sought to obtain a compromise with the Commission, which has… Continue reading EU: German digital venture on or off?
Latest data from CAA/EDI shows that April cinema admissions rose 6% year on year to 12.136 million. Average weekly audiences during the month are put at 2.83 million.Films which were released in April included Hard Rain, Scream 2 and The Rainmaker.Subscribers can access the Cinema database by selecting “Cinema” from the drop-down box at the… Continue reading April Cinema Admissions Top 12 Million
The European Parliament’s vote in favour of the Directive banning all tobacco advertising and sponsorship has caused protests from across many sectors of the EU’s media industry. Print media trade bodies have denounced the ban as being anti-democratic and illegal. There was a heated and lengthy debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg before the… Continue reading EU: EP approves ad ban
