Annual report released

As usual the report, and indeed the VOD study, never even mention the subject of hardcore porn

From IFCO
See Report on Video on Demand [pdf]
See 2006 Annual Report [pdf]t

The Irish Film Censor, John Kelleher, has today (30th May 2007) published his Annual Report for the year 2006.

Among the developments highlighted in the Report:

• More than 10,000 cinema films and DVD/videos were certified during the year
• There was a significant increase in the number of non-mainstream or ‘arthouse’ films submitted for certification
• The number of visitors to the IFCO website was up 16% on the previous year
• The results of the research IFCO commissioned Lansdowne Market Research to carry out into the attitudes of parents and adolescents to strong language in films

IFCO also commissioned a study by Dr. Jim Barratt, international film and media consultant, to carry out into future classification options in the fast changing landscape of film and home entertainment.

 
Buddha images on underwear offend Thailand

From Thai Visa

An American Web site offering G-string underwear and T-shirts for dogs emblazoned with picture of Buddha dropped them from its sales list after protests by predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

It is a good thing they understand our sensitivity, Foreign Ministry spokesman Piriya Khempon said a day after saying the products sold on California-based on-line store CafePress.com had offended Thais and Buddhists elsewhere.

The site sells more than 70 items, ranging from T-shirts to teddy bears to beer pitchers bearing pictures of religious figures and philosophers from Hindu god Shiva to Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi.

Although the site removed advertisements for Buddha G-strings and dog T-shirts, items depicting Jesus and Shiva remained.

From Global Voices see full article

Egyptian bloggers received the news of Monem’s release with apprehension reflecting the amount of distrust in the Egyptian security. Nora Younis said the release decision came as surprise like the detention order…I am still apprehensive. I won’t congratulate Monem before I see him with my eyes.

In an earlier blog post titled “Freedom for Internet”, Jar El Kamar suggests that the reason behind Monem’s detention is his blog posts on torture by state security to him, participation in conferences, and for being an active journalist defending human rights.

in Alastair Campbell's biography

From The Age see full article

Readers will miss out on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's potty mouth, his rows with Chancellor Gordon Brown and his conversations with US President George Bush about the Iraq war after his former spin doctor gave in to pressure to delete unflattering excerpts from his memoirs.

Alastair Campbell's book, The Blair Years, purports to be an insider's view of Downing Street and has angered Blair's wife, Cherie, who tried to block its publication. Despite Mr Campbell's heavy self-censorship, another Labour insider said it was "fantastically indiscreet".

He selectively cut nearly 90% from the diaries he kept as Blair's press secretary before submitting the book for approval by Downing Street in time for its July 9 publication.

Campbell has polished the image of his former boss by reducing the Prime Minister's profanities and not including his reported use of the "c-word" to describe a senior Labour critic. He has also pared back Mr Blair's stormy relationship with the Chancellor. Mr Blair's conversations with leaders such as former French president Jacques Chirac, former US president Bill Clinton and the Queen have also been cut.

Cherie Blair tried to block the book's publication as a breach of official confidences, reportedly having proofread it because her husband was too busy. Campbell did delete references to the couple's children after her complaints.

References to the Iraq war have been reduced, leaving readers in the dark about when Blair first knew of Mr Bush's plans to invade Iraq and how much influence he really had over the decision, according to The Independent.

Turkey internet censorship signed into law

From Reporters without Borders see full article

Reporters Without Borders regrets that a bill passed by parliament on 4 May allowing the authorities to block websites with content deemed to have insulted the memory of the Turkish republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was signed into law by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on 22 May.

Legal restrictions now extend to the Internet, the press freedom organisation said. Resorting to criminal penalties to punish Internet users is excessive. It shows the authorities want to force website editors to censor themselves. The possible consequences of this law are very disturbing. Will subversive content also be banned from chat forums? How far does the government want go to impose its control on online dissent?

Article 8 of Law 5651 on the “Prevention of crimes in the computer domain” calls for content to be blocked if it violates a 1951 law on “crimes against Atatürk.” The article says: “When there is sufficient evidence of the improper aspect of content (...) access must be blocked.” As well as punishing “crimes against Atatürk,” Law 5651 also punishes “inciting suicide” (article 84), “sexual abuse of children” (article 103), “prostitution” (article 227) and “inciting drug use” (article 190).

Internet Service Providers are themselves supposed to take the initiative to block access to content, which they then show to a judge who decides whether or not the blocking should continue. It will be the job of a “Telecommunication Council” to identify these responsible for the content. A complaint will then be submitted to a “Communication Presidency,” which like the “Telecommunication Council” is an entity specially created to ensure the new law’s implementation.

   
Nutters complain about airline seat back TV

Based on an article from the Washington Times see full article

A media watchdog group is criticizing Delta Air Lines for making the HBO series Rome and other supposedly 'bawdy' shows available for in-flight viewing after a passenger complained that children could see nudity and sex scenes.

Billy Ford said the shows were aired on overhead movie screens during a May 6 flight from Atlanta to Duesseldorf, Germany. He complained after watching three scenes of nudity or sex on Rome and another on Da Ali G Show.

Delta officials say the programs were intended as an option for viewing on private screens in the back of the airplane's seat and were shown on the public overhead screens by mistake. As soon as our flight attendants became aware it was being shown, it was cut off and we made an immediate apology to passengers, said Betsy Talton, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta.

That's not enough for Ford and Morality in Media, a New York-based group that targets pornography and other entertainment deemed indecent.

They say sexually explicit programs should not be allowed even on the personal screens because neighboring passengers are exposed to the images, regardless of whether they want to be.

An airplane is a public place, group President Robert Peters said. It's not a private home, where some adult pays extra money to bring HBO into their home.

Peters said children could order the adult-themed programming if they are seated away from their parents or if the adults are sleeping or not paying attention. They also could be exposed to them by neighbors.

The Delta spokesperson said passengers, including parents, may request that access to the on-demand programming be shut off to their seats, and that customers who request to be moved away from someone watching a program that offends them will be accommodated when possible.

Israel considers fingerprint access to porn

From Online Casinos see full article

The Israeli Communications minister, Ariel Atias is busy drafting a bill to block free access to pornography, violence and gambling Web sites.

Atias has already succeeded in passing several important communications reforms, to the chagrin of the cellular telephone giants. Atias claims that in this multimedia era, it is unreasonable that pornography or harsh violence are meticulously trimmed from television programs, while the Internet has no censorship or control....and he is apparently trying to solve the problem with a particularly radical and aggressive move.

The proposed bill places the onus on ISPs to implement screening technology to prevent access to porn or online gambling sites unless such access is specifically requested by a subscriber who provides proof of identity and age. Atias has apparently discussed this matter with the Justice Ministry and communications professionals, in an attempt to reach an agreement on a mode for screening content.

ISPs already market optional content-screening software at the consumer end, but Atias says this is an unsatisfactory solution. He finds it hard to believe that families will voluntarily install screening software and feels content should be screened at the switching centres.

The bill is already attracting attention and opposition from groups that are concerned about its implications for invasion of privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of occupation, to name a few.

Atias seems to have applied a similar concept to controlling erotic content on cellular phones. Free access to erotic services via cellular Web portals has been stopped - in order to receive such services, adult subscribers must send a copy of their ID card to the cell phone company.

Another move to control the Internet has surfaced in the form of a proposal drafted by a political associate of Arias, who has suggested a bill calling for the use of advanced technology to achieve the same goal as the Arias bill. This proposal, by Knesset member Amnon Cohen requires that Internet users with a penchant for visiting undesirable sites will have to register with their Internet service provider (ISP), which will use a fingerprint-based biometric identification system to verify the subscriber is an adult. Without this ID such sites will be blocked.

Describing Cohen's bill as futuristic and currently impractical, Haaretz opines that such a system will be technologically possible in a few years, but in a country that has been waiting almost three years for the telephone number portability law to be implemented, the bill's chances of being passed into law are next to nil.

Cohen's bill was apparently meant to serve as a litmus test for Atias, to assess the reactions of the public, politicians and the industry regarding Web censorship in Israel.

Biography banned in Burma

From Stuff see full article

A biography of Burma’s former late prime minister U Nu, timed to be released on what would have been his 100th birthday today, has been banned by the Burmese censorship board.

The book’s author Than Win Hlaing, who recently finished a seven year prison sentence for writing about independence hero general Aung San, said he was told by the government that now was not the time for a book on U Nu: It took about three months to put together the information. Then it was submitted to the censor board. They told me that even though the information was correct, the book would have to be referred to the central censorship unit because the situation is not right at the moment. They said it might take one or two years for the central unit to review it. I assume that means that it hasn’t been passed.

Than Win Hlaing said that if he was not allowed to publish the book in Burma then he would try to have it published outside the country. He said it contained information on U Nu’s detention in Insein prison after the 1962 coup led by general Ne Win.

South Korea will introduce Internet censorship

From The Sydney Morning Herald see full article

South Korea will introduce an Internet 'code of ethics' to curb the distribution of pornographic material and other information deemed inappropriate.

A bill will be sent to parliament for approval this year, Vice Information Communication Minister Yoo Young-hwan said. Portal operators will be asked to filter out 'obscene', defamatory and other 'unwanted' material. If they do not, they will be punished, he said.

There are 18 home-grown portal sites in service. Younger people are especially active in creating and uploading image files and video clips. In March, a sex video clip was posted on Yahoo Korea for several hours, prompting police to launch a criminal investigation.

In response, the information ministry blocked 180 foreign websites used by South Koreans to spread 'obscene' material on the local portals.

   
Ofcom find offensive language on Revelation TV

From Ofcom see report [pdf]

Revelation TV is a religious channel that often features live phone-in programmes and discussions which from time to time deal with controversial and topical issues. Ofcom received seven complaints from viewers who alleged that some presenters and contributors during some editions of the programmes World in Focus and R Mornings used offensive language when discussing homosexuals, homosexual behaviour and immigrants.

In an edition of the programme World in Focus a panel of three contributors criticised the newly implemented Equality Act and, in particular, the associated Sexual Orientation Regulations, which they alleged would force schools to teach children about homosexuality as part of the national curriculum. Three viewers complained that the discussion was wholly against the new Regulations, with no balance or opposing points of view were given, and that some of the remarks were disparaging and offensive to the gay community.

Four other viewers complained of offensive comments made by Howard Conder, the owner and presenter of Revelation TV, and some of his guests concerning homosexuality and also immigrants in various other programmes.

Ofcom asked Revelation TV to comment with regard to the following Rules in the Broadcasting Code (“the Code”): 2.3 (generally accepted standards) and 5.5 (due impartiality on matters of political or industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy).

Decision

Ofcom understands that the issue of homosexuality is a contentious one both within and outside religious communities, and that a number of opposing views are held. The expression of such sincerely-held and controversial views may give rise to the potential for offence.

It is therefore important that, where there is the potential for offence, broadcasters must comply with Rule 2.3 of the Code which states that: “…in applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context. Such material may include but is not limited to, offensive language…discriminatory language…on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion, beliefs and sexual orientation”.

The issue of the treatment of homosexuality (in relation to the Equality Act and the Sexual Orientation Regulations) was a matter of political controversy and/or matter relating to current public policy at the time it was discussed on Revelation TV. Due impartiality was therefore required. The discussions of the topic on the channel however did not include any representation at all of alternative views. The content therefore breached Rule 5.5.

Breach of Rules 2.3 and 5.5

   
Ofcom tick off Big Brother

From Now see full article
See also Ofcom ajudication

Big Brother bosses have received a sticking off by Ofcom for their handling of the racism row on Celebrity Big Brother.

And Channel 4 will have to air an unprecedented three apologies during the new Big Brother series

Ofcom, who investigated the allegations of racism, was handed unseen footage of the show in which Shilpa Shetty was referred to as a 'Paki'.

Yesterday Ofcom accused Big Brother  chiefs of 'serious editorial misjudgements' but did not fine Channel 4. The TV watchdog also said bosses had failed to protect the public from 'offensive material'.

Chinese target horror comics for children

Thanks to Sean
From ABC see full article

China has launched a nationwide campaign against horror stories aimed at children.

Beijing has ordered officials to seize copies of books and comics deemed to be terrifying publications from shops and street vendors.

A particular target of the campaign is a popular Japanese comic book series, Death Note, which features a notebook that can kill people whose names are written in it.

Chinese officials say the story misleads innocent children and distorts their minds and spirits.

Chinese back off frm real name blogging

From Reuters

China is to back down from a plan to require bloggers to use their real names when they register Web logs, following an outcry over the proposal from the Internet industry.

Instead, the government would promote a 'self-discipline code' that would encourage, but not mandate, bloggers to register under their own names, the report said, citing draft guidelines published by the Internet Society of China.

   
Audiovisual Media Services Directive agreed

From the BBC see full article

European ministers have agreed on new rules for television and on-demand video on the internet..

The European Commission says the new version of the 1989 "TV Without Frontiers" directive will make the EU's audiovisual market more competitive.

The new package features the country-of-origin principle, meaning that broadcasters are governed by the rules of their home country, even if their programmes are transmitted in other states with different rules.

That principle was left out of the final version of the commission's Services Directive - dealing with service industries across the EU - after months of heated debate.

The new Audiovisual Media Services Directive is due to take effect by the end of this year. It has now been backed by the commission, the European Parliament and the member states' governments.

It still allows countries some flexibility to set stricter national rules. The UK's Creative Industries Minister Shaun Woodward welcomed the deal, saying it avoided too much regulation and would lead to more television and online services.

EU Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said the new legislation: brings Europe's audiovisual policies into the 21st Century, providing a welcome shot in the arm to industry. It promises less regulation, better financing for European content and higher visibility to Europe's key values, cultural diversity and the protection of minors.

Likens Thailand to China and Vietnam

Based on an article from the Bangkok Post

New York-based Human Rights Watch says the military-backed government has undermined Thailand's free political debate with its unprecedented crackdown on Internet critics.

Since the Sept 19 military coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai authorities have launched a censorship campaign of the Internet that has blocked tens of thousands of websites including those deemed critical of the current government.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch: The military-backed government promised a quick return to democracy, but it's now attacking freedom of expression and political pluralism in ways that Thaksin never dared.

Censorship of the Internet is now being carried out by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT) and the Royal Thai Police, in collaboration with the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) and the Telecommunication Authority (TOT), which provide Thailand's international internet gateways.

Since the coup, the government has blocked websites on charges of threatening national security, disrupting public order, or being obscene, including the September 19 Network (www.19sep.net and www.19sep.org), the pro-Thaksin PTV television (www.ptvthai.com), the online broadcast of Saturday Voice (www.saturdaylive.org and saturdayvoice.no-ip.info) and the online broadcast of FM 87.75 Taxi Community Radio (www.shinawatradio.com).

While these websites can still be accessed from abroad, local internet surfers in Thailand will get an "Access Denied" message, and the MICT's logo saying that access to such websites has been blocked due to "inappropriate content."

The ministry has ludicrously requested Google Thailand and Google.com to block access to its cached web pages in Thailand by which blocked pages can be accessed, as well as to block by keyword search.

The ministry also did not mention the more recent blocking of the entire Blogspot.com site by some Internet providers acting on the MICT's "request". This adds thousands more websites to the Thailand block list.

Thailand, under the current government, has also passed a law to criminalise the generation, possession, storage, dissemination of and access to prohibited information on the Internet and a Bill on Computer-Related Offenses that empowers the MICT minister to intercept and seize computer data, and seek court warrants to block the dissemination of information on the Internet if such information is considered as a threat to national security. The two laws, which have yet to be passed, include stiff penalties such as a maximum of five-years imprisonment and fines up to 100,000 baht ($2,700).

Freedom of expression, including offering opinions on the Internet, is an essential basis of any functioning democracy, said Adams. Blocking critical websites resembles the behaviour of China and Vietnam. Is this the company that Thailand's leaders want to keep?

From The Guardian see full article

A group of journalists at a state-controlled broadcast news agency in Russia have resigned en masse in one of the few open rebellions in recent years against censorship imposed by the Kremlin.

Eight reporters from the Russian News Service said they could not work under new rules that required them not to interview or mention opposition leaders such as Garry Kasparov and to ensure 50% coverage of "positive news".

Artyom Khan, one of the reporters who resigned, said restrictions were introduced when new management was imported last month from Channel One, the state television station that documents Mr Putin's every move.

Chavez closes popular TV channel

From The Guardian see full article

Venezuela is in crisis. Inflation is soaring. There are acute shortages of milk, eggs and meat. Violent crime is taking more than 100 lives every week. The government is in chaos. Corruption is draining the country's oil wealth.

These are the bulletins of Radio Caracas Television, the country's most influential private network. The theme is consistent: President Hugo Chávez is leading the country to ruin and if he is not stopped Venezuela will become a Cuba-style dictatorship.

At midnight on May 27, however, RCTV will be stopped. Its bleak bulletins silenced because the government is refusing to renew its broadcast licence. Critics say an authoritarian hammer is crushing free speech and what is left of Venezuela's democracy. Supporters say the government is right to replace a channel notorious for lies, manipulation and anti-Chávez propaganda.

Tens of thousands of people marched in two rival rallies at Caracas last week, one mourning the decision, the other celebrating. More are expected this week and the volume of international protest - and praise - is set to swell.

None of it will alter the decision. Chavez recently said on his own television show. It's over. His opponents cannot save RCTV, he added. Say what they say, do what they do, howl where they want, the licence will not be renewed.

RCTV's 2,500 staff have been told to continue turning up for work after May 27 in the hope that some programmes will still be made if they can be sold to other networks, and that RCTV may be able to limp on as a cable channel. But with vastly reduced audience share and advertising revenue it is unclear how long their jobs will last.

 
so as to ban a political site

From the Thai Photo Blogs see full article

Blogspot subdomains are still being blocked by most Thai internet service providers.  There are reports that TOT, Hutch, and CSLoxinfo are 3 such ISPs have who blocked blogspot.com. Others have reported that True has not blocked blogspot.com.

According to reports, the government were aiming at blocking only saturdayvoice.blogspot.com and a few other political sites. However, their technicians 'mistakenly' blocked all the sub-domains and hence blocked thousands of blogs.

   
Vatican win right to reply

From TV Guide

Italy's state broadcaster has no decided to buy a BBC documentary on the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests but will only let it be aired if accompanied by balancing opinion from the Church.

The documentary had sparked a political row which pitted right-wing politicians opposed to the airing against leftists who said censoring it would violate freedom of speech.

On Tuesday RAI director general Claudio Cappon approved purchasing the documentary, called Sex Crimes and the Vatican, but set conditions for how it can be broadcast.

He demanded that the program hosting the documentary, talk show Year Zero, also let prominent members of the Church give their version of events and contest the documentary's assertions.

Michele Santoro, a left-leaning journalist, had originally planned to air the documentary this Thursday but will now delay broadcasting it.

   
Education authority sued over film shown in class

Note that the film is R rated in the US and 15 rated in the UK

From Digital Spy see full article

The family of a girl who was shown Brokeback Mountain at school is suing the education authority.

They say Jessica Turner, 12, was emotionally damaged by watching the movie, about two bisexual cowboys, and are claiming $400,000 in damages.

The claim alleges negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Turner's family say she felt she could not leave her Ashburn Community Elementary School class and still needs counselling for the experience.

Papers filed by the Turners also say Ms Buford, a stand-in teacher, introduced the film by telling pupils: What happens in Ms Buford's class stays in Ms Buford's class.

A Cover Up in Turkey

From The Guardian see full article

The bikini has become the latest item to offend the Islamic-oriented authorities in Turkey. After a bungled attempt to outlaw alcohol, municipal officials in Istanbul have set their sights on billboard advertisements of the skimpy swimsuit. The ban was  revealed last week.

Lambasting the move as more in tune with Iran than a country bent on joining the EU, appalled secularists said it proved that the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party had a hidden Islamist agenda.

We've never had to get permission before and when we applied for it they told us we were hanging up immoral pictures, said Moris Eskenazi, who jointly owns one of four firms reportedly stopped from placing the adverts.

The ruling party first want to remove women wearing swimsuits from billboards and then they want to remove them from the beach, said Gulsun Bilgehan, a member of the Republican People's party (CHP) who vowed to take the issue to the Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member.

   
Jeremy Clarkson re-reprimanded for gay remark

From Ofcom see report [pdf]

Top Gear, BBC Two, 16 July 2006, 20:00

In this episode, Jeremy Clarkson invited a man in the studio audience to comment on a car the team were discussing. The audience member described the car as “gay”. Jeremy Clarkson repeated this word and went on to add “it’s a bit ginger beer”.

Five viewers complained that the expressions used were offensive to homosexual people. Rule 2.3 of the Broadcasting Code states that broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context….

The BBC Editorial Complaints Unit (“ECU”) had already concluded that:

As Jeremy Clarkson supplemented the term “gay” with a phrase which is rhyming slang for “queer”, there was no doubt that it was being used in the sense of “homosexual”, and was capable of giving offence… in this instance there was no editorial purpose which would have served to justify the potential offence and the complaints were therefore upheld… the Executive Producer of Top Gear has reminded the presenters and the production team of the importance of avoiding derogatory references to sexual orientation.

Decision

Any use of the word “gay” which results in a negative portrayal of homosexual men and women can give rise to concern. Some in the homosexual community are sensitive to the word being used in a pejorative way, having seen adoption of the word as a means of referring to themselves and their community in a positive manner. To use it as a term of ridicule therefore runs the risk of giving offence.

In Ofcom’s view there is not sufficient evidence to conclude that use of the word “gay” is necessarily and automatically intended to be, or is, offensive. Broadcasters’ right to freedom of expression should not be restricted without at least some objective evidence that the word in context was capable of causing offence.

In this edition of Top Gear, the presenter’s use of a Cockney rhyming phrase made clear he intended to give a particular meaning to the use of the word “gay” by the member of the audience, i.e. not to restrict its meaning simply to foolish or stupid, but clearly linking the reference to homosexual people. This, in Ofcom’s opinion, meant that the use of the word became capable of giving offence. In the context, there was no justification for using the word in this way. We note, however, that the BBC has taken steps to remind the production team and presenters of the importance of avoiding derogatory references to sexual orientation. In light of the ECU ruling and the BBC’s actions, we consider the matter resolved.

   
New Zealand catholics bring case against South Park

From TV3 see full article

Catholic bishops in New Zealand say they have brought a case before the High Court which could have a big impact on the community.

They launched a legal case over a controversial episode of the animated television show South Park, featuring a menstruating Virgin Mary.

Catholics complained to the Broadcasting Standards Authority when it was screened, but the complaint was thrown out.

Lawyers for the bishops have appealed to the High Court, claiming the programme breached obligations under the Broadcasting Act.

Church spokeswoman Lindsay Freer says the court has reserved its decision.

India dreams up the term 'content auditor'

From Televisionpoint.com

The draft Indian broadcasting code calls for every channel to appoint a "content auditor" to monitor programmes and slot them in appropriate certification categories.

The content auditor will be responsible for any lapse in following certification rules. The sub-committee has proposed that the content auditor be made the point of contact for any issue or complaint that may arise with regard to the programmes they broadcast.

To ensure that the auditor has enough authority, the proposed code recommends that only the senior most management of the broadcast service provider be allowed to override the content auditor. According to the proposed draft, each channel will get about two weeks to dispose of complaints and will have to either take the programme off air, modify the content and apologise, or reject the complaint after citing reasons.

One of the major proposals of the draft proposal is the implementation of a watershed format of programming. This would mean that while family programmes, certified U, are programmed any time of the day, those certified as UA will be shown only between 8 pm and 4 am. Previously it was mentioned that adult A rated films could be shown after 11pm.

 
Blogs on blogspot are being blocked in Thailand

Users in Thailand have been reporting that ALL blogs using Google's Blogger service hosted with blogspot in the address are being blocked in Thailand.

Readers have reported that even uncontroversial blogs have been offline for the last few days.

It has not yet become clear the reason for this block.

Google agree to censor searches in Korea

Based on an artice from the Chosun see full article

Google has decided to block of the URLs of porn websites at a similar level as the Korean major search engines. It will also introduce technology to filter content for underage Korean users and require users of its Korean service to prove that they are old enough.

The Ministry of Information and Communication said Google has discussed with the ministry measures to limit access to content by Korean adolescent Internet users and decided to take the protective measures. Called SafeSearch, the filter technology is currently being developed by the search giant itself, and is expected to be put in place from August this year.

Korean Internet users under 19 can access only content that passes the filtering technology.

   
Vatican censorship of BBC documentary

From eitb see full article

A political row has erupted in Italy over whether state television should air a BBC documentary about the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests.

The dispute broke out after a conservative politician said RAI should block the documentary because it was part of what he called a media execution squad ready to open fire on the Church and the Pope.

Mario Landolfi, head of the parliament's oversight committee for the broadcaster, asked RAI director general Claudio Cappon to deny permission to air Sex Crimes and the Vatican.

The documentary was aired on the BBC in October but never in Italy, although bloggers have translated it and it now ranks as Google Video Italia's most popular item. Several leftist politicians immediately attacked Landolfi's request for censorship.

At the weekend, Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Bishops Conference, accused bloggers who put the documentary on the web of spreading "infamous slander".

Two leftists parliamentarians, Giovanni Russo Spena and Gennaro Migliore, said in a joint statement that the documentary should be aired because paedophilia in the Catholic Church is well known, there is no mystery about it.

   
Objections to showing Iranian film at Cannes

From Stop Fundamentalism

Iranian Mullahs’ have once again exposed to the world their limited tolerance for views that might be slightly different than theirs.

Iran has sent the French Embassy in Tehran a letter of protest regarding the screening of an Iranian film maker’s movie, Persepolise, at the Cannes Film Festival.

The movie is about a child growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution.

The letter sent by the state-run Farabi Foundation in Iran reads, This year the Cannes Film Festival, in an unconventional and unsuitable act, has chosen a movie about Iran that has presented an unrealistic face of the achievements and results of the glorious Islamic Revolution in some of its parts.

Mullahs are trying very hard to extend the reach of their censorship and their totalitarian rule all the way up into Europe.

The film is competing for the top prize and will be officially screened Wednesday.

German games companies fight back against stricter censorship

From Heise Online see full article

The computer games industry still does not think that Germany needs to revise its Interstate Treaty to Protect Minors in the Media.

The German Association for Interactive Entertainment Software (BIU) says that the call for stricter legislation against violent games by conservative politicians last week after the presentation of the study by the Criminology Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) is nothing more than a "knee-jerk reaction".

The industry Association is referring to a hearing held at the end of April in the Bundestag on violent computer games. After that hearing, media experts along all party lines voted against making the regulations stricter. The SPD had already stated its position in advance by saying that simply improving enforcement of youth protection and the German Penal Code would suffice.

KFN Director Christian Pfeiffer presented a survey of 72 games his Institute said it would prefer to raise the age restrictions for 37% of the games that had one from the USK ("Unterhaltungssoftware SelbstKontrolle" or Voluntary Rating for Entertainment Software), and he cast doubt on 27% of the labels,

Now, the industry association has said that the criminological research report may be biased. For instance, it does not even mention the high quality study produced by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Unlike Pfeiffer, who says that brutal games increase the violent potential of players already prone to violence, the British Board found that not even interactive violent computer games were able to generate any significant emotion among players.

The BIU is calling on Germany's home ministers to get involved in public relations work instead of undermining public trust in current state youth protection mechanisms with unprofessional criticism.

Irish Broadcasting Complaints Commission not impressed by discussion of sex toys

Based on an article from Irish Examiner

Radio presenter Ray D’Arcy has been criticised for a lack of taste and decency after hosting a sexually explicit show comparing sex toys. During the live show he let buzzing vibrators loose on his desk.

In a ticking off, the Today FM’s DJ was rapped by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission for a mid-morning discussion with two women who tested the products.

A listener, who had his kids in the car with him at the time, was 'horrified' and lodged a complaint saying it was unreasonable to broadcast it so early in the day.

The BCC agreed and branded it sexually explicit. Watchdogs said the show lacked taste and decency, was explicit, gratuitous, inappropriate and totally unsuitable for the time of day.

The show was aired at 9.35am for an adult audience in March.

   
Michael Moore film under duress

Based on an article from The Guardian see full article

Michael Moore's latest knock against the US administration, today receives its premiere at the Cannes film festival. Sicko is a documentary tackling the state of American healthcare, focuses on the pharmaceutical giants, and particularly on health insurers.

The film has already caused Moore to clash with the American authorities. Now, according to movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, the US government is attempting to impound the negative.

According to Weinstein, the US Treasury's moves meant we had to fly the movie to another country, he would not say to where. He added that he feared that if the film were impounded, there might be attempts to cut some footage, in particular the last 20 minutes, which related to a trip to Cuba.

In March, Moore travelled to Cuba with a group of emergency workers from New York's Ground Zero to see whether they would receive better care under the Castro regime than they had under George Bush. He had applied for permission to travel in October 2006 and received no reply.

In a letter dated May 2, the treasury department notified Moore that it was investigating him for unlicensed travel to Cuba.

Now team Moore is hitting back. Weinstein has hired an attorney, David Boies, who has lodged a request under the US freedom of information act to find out what motivated the treasury to begin its investigation: They have to tell us why they did it and what they did. And they are not too happy about it.

Weinstein believes the investigation has a political agenda: We want to find out who motivated this. We suspect there may be interference from another office. Otherwise, I don't understand why this would have come about.

Moore has hired Al Gore's former press secretary, Chris Lehane, to help him to deal with the forces I'm up against.

Bible acceptable by community standards

From The Telegraph see full article

Hong Kong's media regulator said it would not reclassify the Bible as an indecent publication following more than 2,000 complaints about its sexual and violent content, including rape and incest.

The Bible is a religious text which is part of civilisation. It has been passed from generation to generation, the Television and Licensing Authority (TELA) ruled last night.

The regulator received 2,041 such complaints in the last week, but said it would not submit the Bible to the tribunal for obscene classification.

The Bible had not violated standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable members of the community, TELA said in a statement.

Increasing state censorship of the internet

From the BBC see full article
See also the OpenNet Initiative

The level of state-led censorship of the net is growing around the world, a study of so-called internet filtering by the Open Net Initiative suggests.

The study of thousands of websites across 120 Internet Service Providers found 25 of 41 countries surveyed showed evidence of content filtering. Websites and services such as Skype and Google Maps were blocked, it said.

In five years we have gone from a couple of states doing state-mandated net filtering to 25, said John Palfrey, at Harvard Law School. Palfrey, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, added: There has also been an increase in the scale, scope and sophistication of internet filtering.

ONI is made up of research groups at the universities of Toronto, Harvard Law School, Oxford and Cambridge. It chose 41 countries for the survey in which testing could be done safely and where there was the most to learn about government online surveillance.

Countries which carry out the broadest range of filtering included Burma, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, the study said.

Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford University, said the organisation was also looking at the tools people used to circumvent filtering: It's hard to quantify how many people are doing this. As we go forward each year we want to see if some of these circumvention technologies become more like appliances and you just plug them in and they work.

Few states restrict their activities to one type of content, said Rafal Rohozinski, Research Fellow of the Cambridge Security Programme: Once filtering is begun, it is applied to a broad range of content and can be used for expanding government control of cyberspace. "Cyberspace has become a strategic forum of competition between states, as well as between citizens and states.

The survey found evidence of filtering in the following countries:

Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burma/Myanmar, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

Criminal Justice Bill to be introduced this summer

From Media Newswire see full article

Home Secretary John Reid has been speaking to the Police Federation stating that a Criminal Justice Bill will be introduced this summer.

It was previously stated that the prohibition on Extreme pornography would be introduced in this bill. This is not mentioned in the speech probably because it is considered small fry and maybe not considered so relevant to the audience

In a speech to the Police Federation John Reid said:

And that's why this summer we'll be introducing a new Criminal Justice Bill to:

• To extend your powers to close all premises generating yobbish behaviour - not just crack dens.
• And to give you more powers to restrict the behaviour of dangerous offenders like where they can live or who they can associate with.

Comment: A new Minister of Dangerous Pictures

From Phantom on The Melon Farmers Forum

The reason John Reid will not have mentioned the subject of the Dangerous Pictures Act is because it now falls into the remit of Lord Falconer`s Department for Constitutional Affairs/Ministry of Justice

The DPA is now the affair of the Ministry of Justice and therefore not something Reid will be waxing lyrical about anymore...

As for the ministerial staff of the Ministry of Justice, it could be any one of these: www.justice.gov.uk/ministers.htm. After Goggins and Coaker the poisoned chalice has now passed on to its third minister...

Comments: Radio 4 Today Programme Comments

See comments about the recent Today programme

   
Cocaine drink renamed Censored

From News.com.au see full article

An energy drink that was barred by the US government from going on the market with the name Cocaine will re-emerge under the tongue-in-cheek moniker Censored.

We love the Censored name because it has the same rebellious and fun spirit that our original name did, said Redux Beverages founder Jamey Kirby.

The company announced earlier this week it was going to change the name of the Cocaine beverage in the face of pressure from officials and others who said it glamourised illegal drug use.

The Las Vegas-based firm said it took the action about the title of its caffeine-loaded drink - which contains no cocaine despite the name - in the face of "threats" by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Nevada state officials.

Legal troubles for the firm began on April 4, when the FDA issued a warning to Redux that it considered the drink illegal, saying it was being marketed as an alternative to an illegal street drug and making claims to treat or cure disease.

Thai radio station radio raided and shut after airing Thaksin interview

From the Bangkok Post

Broadcasting regulators yesterday raided and shut down a community radio station which ran an interview with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and threatened to crack down on thousands of illegal community radio stations.

The FM 87.75 station was raided and closed down yesterday after the Public Relations Department, the regulator of community radio stations, found that it had no licence to operate.

Department chief Pramoj Rathavinij said yesterday that he ordered drastic measures against the stations which aired comments from Thaksin for national security reasons, adding the department would take this opportunity to deal with around 3,000 illegal community radio stations across the country.

The deposed leader called three radio stations known to be sympathetic to him on Wednesday night. Besides the FM 87.75 community radio station, he called the FM 92.75 taxi drivers' community radio and the internet radio station run by the Saturday Voice Against Dictatorship website.

In the radio interviews Thaksin called for swift elections to restore democracy and confidence. He also said that he would not return to Thailand soon out of concern that his return would result in a confrontation. It was the first time Thaksin has spoken to the Thai media at home since he was removed from power in the Sept 19 coup and went to live in London.

Council for National Security (CNS) chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said yesterday that he had ordered the Internal Security Operations Command to closely monitor community radio stations.

Call to class the bible as indecent in Hong Kong

From Stuff see full article

More than 800 Hong Kong residents have called on authorities to reclassify the Bible as "indecent" due to its sexual and violent content, following an uproar over a sex column in a university student journal.

A spokesperson for Hong Kong's Television and Entertainment Licensing authority (TELA) said it had received 838 complaints about the Bible.

The complaints follow the launch of an anonymous Web site, www.truthbible.net, which said the holy book "made one tremble" given its sexual and violent content, including rape and incest.

The Web site said the Bible's sexual content "far exceeds" that of a recent sex column published in the Chinese University's "Student Press" magazine, which had asked readers whether they'd ever fantasised about incest or bestiality.

That column was later deemed "indecent" by the Obscene Articles Tribunal, sparking a storm of debate about social morality and freedom of speech.

If the Bible is similarly classified as "indecent" by authorities, only those over 18 could buy the holy book and it would need to be sealed in a wrapper with a statutory warning notice.

TELA said it was still undecided on whether the Bible had violated Hong Kong's obscene and indecent articles laws.

Beyer Recommends... The Virgin School

Beyer Recommends...The Virgin School

Thanks to Dan who noted that the Daily Mail have re-run the same story marking the broadcast that they ran when the show was first announced. So if it seems a little familiar...

Based on an article from the Daily Mail

Channel 4 sparked outrage after it screened a new show which featured a male virgin being taught how to have sex.

James from Kent, who is 26 and had never slept with a woman, visited a sex school in Amsterdam, where he spent three months learning "the art of intimacy".

Viewers were subjected to the uncomfortable sight of James losing his virginity to a sex therapist in the show called The Virgin School.

It is part of a series of programmes about virginity lined up for this year, which will also look at the different ways in which people lose their virginity.

John Beyer, director of Mediawatch UK said: It beggars belief. It's yet another example of them trying to attract viewers with a programme about sex. It is really time that Channel 4 grew up. They are so caught up in their own importance that they really can't see beyond their own quest for sensationalism and controversy.

A Channel 4 spokesman said: Virgin School is a sensitive documentary that follows one young man's effort to overcome a major obstacle in his life. The programme focuses on his emotional journey and his growing confidence with women, not the final result.

The next show called Make Me A Virgin is a documentary where filmmaker and ex-evangelical Christian Jamie Campbell investigates the claim that more and more teenagers are holding on to their virginity as a reaction against the sex obsessed culture of our times. Channel 4 will then screen Desperate Virgins, an investigation into the lives of three people who have yet to have sex.

 
of online game set in Northern Ireland troubles

From the BBC see full article
See the online game at HoodedGunman

A web-based computer game inspired by the activities of Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups has 'outraged' victims organisations.

The Hooded Gunman, a virtual game where players register as republicans or loyalists. The aim of the game is to collect as much money as possible by creating a paramilitary empire built on drug dealing, prostitution, counterfeiting and killing your enemies. Players also have to avoid police officers who can offer them bonuses for becoming informers.

The game's introduction states: We created this game to make people laugh and have fun and hopefully unite in our differences in our online community, after all, in Northern Ireland we have such beautiful cultural diversities.

However, Alan McBride who lost his wife and father-in-law in an IRA bomb in 1993 is furious: It does attempt to glorify it (violence) in some senses and it is absolutely appalling.

Ulster Unionist Derek Hussey said it was tasteless and insensitive: There is nothing glamorous or playful about paramilitarism in Northern Ireland. At a time when many victims are coming to terms with the new dispensation and politicians are trying to draw a line under the past, this type of nonsense does not help.

But the game's creator, Warren Dowey, said the intention was to bring about awareness of the plight of people in Northern Ireland, but never to cause offence: I don't want to take away from the fact that many people lost their lives to violence but I just wanted to highlight what I felt was the ridiculousness of it. The game does not glorify the paramilitaries by any sense, in fact it portrays them as drug dealers, and peddlers of alcohol and prostitution. There are no civilians within the game.

   
ASA rule on fishhook advert

From the Daily Mail see full article

A health campaign which showed smokers being snatched by fish hooks in their mouths has been criticised for frightening children.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 744 complaints about the Department of Health TV commercials and posters.

The campaign attracted the highest number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority for two years. The ASA criticised the handling of the Government-health initiative. They said most of those who complained considered the images were "offensive, frightening and distressing", particularly to children.

It ruled that the commercials cannot be shown during children or family viewing times. It seems the posters will be banned outright.

The Department of Health said the adverts were designed to confront smokers with the controlling nature of their addiction and were not meant merely to attract attention or to be gratuitous.

   
Catholics whinge about Canadian TV programme

From Canada.com see full article

A Canadian Catholic organization is accusing the TV company, CBC, of blasphemy over a pilot program that portrays altar boys as drug users and the Catholic communion host as munchable snack food, possible poker chips and a repository for drops of LSD.

Catholics should not have to pay for shows where their most sacred rituals and images are considered a starting point for dramatic licence, said the Catholic Civil Rights League, which intends to lodge a formal complaint today with the CBC for airing The Altar Boy Gang.

Two 30-minute pilot shows of The Altar Boy Gang, produced by Sienna Films of Toronto, aired last Friday with the help of more than $600,000 in funding from the Canadian Television Fund, which supports the production of distinctively Canadian TV programs.

Jeff Keay, a CBC spokesman, said yesterday the show will not become a CBC series. But he said he thought the premise of the pilot shows did not cross the line: We certainly intend no disrespect of the Catholic Church or any other religious organization. He said the network has received no other complaints about the shows.

Joanne McGarry, the civil rights league's executive director, said she watched the two pilots and personally, the part where I cringed the most, was the desecration of the host. She said she intended to send a formal complaint to Robert Rabinovitch, president of the CBC: We think the religious faith of all Canadians should be respected in our programming.