From CNET News

The New York Times said Tuesday it had blocked British Internet readers from seeing a story detailing elements of the investigation into a suspected plot to blow up airliners between Britain and the United States.

The New York Times article cited unnamed investigators providing information not given publicly by British police. It detailed the content of martyrdom videos and bomb-making equipment found by police and said an attempt to blow up the airliners was not as imminent as authorities had suggested.

The same article appeared on the paper's Web site, but readers in Britain who clicked on the headline received the notice "This Article Is Unavailable." On advice of legal counsel, this article is unavailable to readers of NYTimes.com in Britain. This arises from the requirement in British law that prohibits publication of prejudicial information about the defendants prior to trial, the notice said.

However British newspapers the Times and the Daily Mail also published details from the New York Times article this week.

A government source said no injunctions had been taken out against the British papers, but action could not be ruled out if details were in any future publications, closer to a trial date.

Media lawyer Mark Stephens of Finer Stephens Innocent said he could not see anything wrong with the blocked New York Times article and the decision by British papers to print similar details showed the contempt of court law may be the problem.: It's probably unhelpful to have an area of law which is so uncertain where one set of lawyers is saying censor everything while another says there's nothing wrong with it. Even by blocking you don't have the desired effect. You actually create an enhanced interest as the blocking becomes a story in itself, which fans the flames of curiosity,

The British take this very seriously and tend to attack publications for contempt even if the arguments that we would have made sounded fairly reasonable, said George Freeman, a lawyer with the New York Times.

Freeman said it was no guarantee that someone in Britain could not find the story.

If you are interested in the article you could try looking at the Toronto Star site

Based on an article from Mumbai Mirror

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked cable operators in Mumbai and Maharashtra to stop screening a message saying certain movie channels are off the air because of the high court’s order.

This is a clear misrepresentation of the high court’s order to the consumers at large, said the division bench of Justice R M Lodha and Justice S A Bobde. The court made it clear that though its August 23, 2005 order put the onus of implementing the Cable Television Networks Act, 1995 on the broadcaster (along with cable service providers), it never banned the movie channels themselves.

It clarified that the channels are only expected to show films which have got U (universal) or U/A (universal/adult) certificate from Censor Board.

After the August 23, 2005 police raided cable operator's offices and seized decoders of nine movie channels. Following the police crack down channels such as HBO, Star Movies, etc went off the air in many parts of the city and even in other parts of the state.

In their place, the cable operators are displaying the message that this channel was not available “pursuant to the honourable Bombay High Court's order”.

From X Biz

Viewing human rights perversion on your phone

Responding to recent government demands to protect children from accessing adult content via the growing medium of mobile TV, industry representatives said that mission would prove to be difficult, if not impossible.

After a nationwide outcry over an incident that saw a Sydney grade school student showing classmates nude photos that he had downloaded onto his Internet-capable mobile phone, Sen. Helen Coonan called the medium a “pipeline for perversion.”

Coonan said the solution was to extend the nation’s Internet and TV content restrictions to include mobile devices.

Representatives from the mobile sector attending the Australian Interactive Media Industry Summit agreed that protecting children is vital, but said Coonan’s solutions would not work.

Scott Taylor, general manager of Hutchinson, a company that offers adult content on its network, said that content restrictions won’t work because mobile devices will soon have access to virtually any website in the world. As an alternative solution, Taylor suggested that the industry needed to educate parents on how to control access.

According to Jason Nealon of Optus, a mobile content portal, a parental control layer needs to be part of the mobile device to best protect children.

The Home Office has published: Consultation on the Possession of Extreme Pornographic Material Summary of responses and next steps

Respondents answered the question “Do you think the challenge posed by the
Internet in this area requires the law to be strengthened?” as follows:

Based on an article from the BBC

Under new laws announced on Wednesday by Home Office minister Vernon Coaker MP, anyone caught with images "featuring violence that is, or appears to be, life-threatening or is likely to result in serious and disabling injury", could be jailed for up to three years.

Groups representing adults who engage in more extreme but consensual sexual activities say the legislation represents a grey area.

Derek Cohen, secretary of The Spanner Trust, which defends the rights of sadomasochists of all sexual orientations, said the proposed legislation was more of a "knee-jerk reaction":The difficulty is that you have people who are in consensual activities and people engaged in more violent activities.

Cohen said that unlike child pornography or bestial pornography, which was easily recognisable as illegal, sadomasochists will find it difficult to know what side of the law their pictures fell: Violence is not consensual but injuries can be received in all forms of activities. People will not know whether their pictures are illegal or not. It's a very difficult area, I think the burden of proof has to be very high. If this goes through I hope it receives a lot more scrutiny."

The government move follows a consultation process after a campaign led by Reading mother Liz Longhurst. Her daughter Jane was strangled during what music teacher Graham Coutts claimed was consensual sex.

The new law will penalise possession of violent and extreme pornography both on- and offline. The government claims the new law will not target those who accidentally come into contact with obscene pornography, nor would it target the mainstream entertainment industry.

Liberal Democrat MP and campaign supporter Sandra Gidley, say the government should have acted sooner: You cannot look at this sort of material and not be affected.

Labour's Brighton Pavilion MP David Lepper added: I'm delighted that our campaign has been so successful and that the government has agreed to plug these loopholes in the law.

But Shaun Gabb, director of the anti-censorship organisation the Libertarian Alliance opposes the legislation on the grounds that people should be able to look at whatever they wish: If you are criminalising possession then you are giving police inquisitorial powers to come into your house and see what you've got, now we didn't have this in the past.

From Erotic Awards

The 2006 Erotic Awards finalists are now published. The Erotic Awards Finals will feature at

The Night of the Senses
The Renaissance Rooms,
Vauxhall,
London SE8

Saturday 2nd September
7pm - 11pm, partying till 6am

The Erotic Awards Stage Show and Presentations take place at the beginning of the Night of the Senses at 9pm The finalists' work is exhibited by projections during the show. Presenter: Mat Fraser. The winners will be presented with golden flying penis trophies.

The Night of the Senses is celebrating its 20th year by bringing back our most fabulous performers for a midnight cabaret. This is your chance to see old favourites including Mouse, Rumpshaker and Sunny Snake Boy.

The Night of the Senses is a sexual carnival, an erotic wonderland, opening doors to sexual intrigue and adventure, and making wild fantasies come to life.

From X Biz

Citing the 1st and the 14th Amendments, a federal court judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of a law restricting the sale of violent video games to minors.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge James Brady comes shortly after the Governor of Louisiana signed Act 441 into law, which bans and criminalizes the sale, lease or rental of a video that “appeals to a minor’s morbid interest in violence.”

But in a lawsuit filed by the Entertainment Software Association and the Entertainment Merchants Association seeking a preliminary injunction and ultimately a permanent injunction, Brady sided with the plaintiffs, stating that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the Louisiana law infringes on free speech and violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Brady further stated that depictions of violence should be given full constitutional protection along with other unpopular forms of free speech, and that video games should not be treated differently from other forms of media.

The state may not restrict video game expression merely because it dislikes the way that expression shapes an individual's thoughts and attitudes, Brady wrote in his ruling.

Other laws seeking to ban the sale of violent video games to anyone under 18 have already been struck down in six states.

From INS News

The Russian Orthodox Church wants Moscow City Hall to ban a concert by superstar Madonna next month, and is asking fans to boycott it.

The idea of holding such a cultural gathering (Sept. 11) is regrettable, Russian Jewish Congress spokesman Michael Savin said: A show which insults religious feelings of believers should not be allowed.

Savin said Madonna displays Judaic symbols carelessly: From this provocative point of view, the Madonna show will hardly contribute to strengthening tolerance in our country.

Many young Orthodox nutters have begun to distribute leaflets against the concert. This show insults religious sentiment, says a press release from the organizers of the campaign. The most disgusting moment, in which the singer is spread across a crucifix wearing a crown of thorns to parody the Saviour, will certainly hurt Christians, it tramples upon holy symbols.

We humbly ask Your Holiness to consider anathematizing the organizers of, and participants in, the blasphemy and warning them about the terrible nature of the crime that is being planned, an organization called For the Spiritual Revival of the Fatherland said in a letter to Patriarch Alexy II. A mere warning of a possible anathema will make many of the participants in the blasphemy stop and think and will be a manifestation of mercy for those who are vacillating or have a poor understanding of the boundary between Christianity and anti- Christianity.

All tickets for Madonna's Moscow concert have been sold out. The cheapest tickets cost 1,500 rubles (about $60), the most expensive 25,000 rubles (almost $1,000). No more than six tickets have been sold to one person.

From The Scotsman

The naked rambler says he will continue refusing to wear clothes despite his seventh conviction for breach of the peace.

Stephen Gough was handed a seven-month sentence at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday for walking out of Saughton prison in the nude and breaching his bail.

Despite his return to jail, he claims he will not cover up while in the Capital.

As Edinburgh is the only place in the trek he was arrested, Gough is intent on remaining naked every time he visits the city until he is left alone by the authorities.

His lawyer, John Good, told the court: We are developing our attitudes to this all the time. Maybe with global warming on the agenda we will all join Mr Gough in his pursuit one day.

When asked by Sheriff Kenneth McIntyre how long Gough aimed to keep up his campaign, Good answered: He is very dogmatic and says he will not desist.

Gough, from the south of England, was arrested on July 19, having just completed a previous three-month sentence

From AVN

The Sandy Springs City Council in Georgia has passed an obscenity law after two months of deliberations.

The measure, approved unanimously last week, prohibits the sale, distribution and even the advertisement of obscene material. It also includes a list of acts that it defines as obscene, including certain sex acts as well as sex toys, although it makes exceptions to those needing the material for sexuality class or through a prescription from a doctor, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The issue of the new law was raised after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Georgia’s obscenity law was unconstitutional, forcing local governments to operate without one unless they can pass an obscenity law of their own.

Sandy Springs City Attorney Wendell Willard said the new measure would give the city a way to prosecute buyers and purveyors of obscene material.

But Alan Begner, an Atlanta-based attorney whose clients include Sandy Springs adult stores Love Shack and Starship Enterprise and Extreme Video, said the new law would do away with a customer’s right to access adult material in the city.

Shady Springs Mayor Eva Galambos said the city does not plan to crack down on adult stores.

From the BBC

Officials in New York are campaigning to stop the broadcast of a new series of reality show Survivor which divides contestants into ethnic "tribes". City council officials are to stage a rally on Friday to urge New York-based CBS network to pull the 13th series of Survivor, due to air from 14 September.

CBS said it had "full confidence in the producers and their ability to produce the programme in a responsible manner". The network announced on Wednesday that the 20 "castaways" would be
initially segregated into groups of blacks, whites, Asians and Latinos before merging later in the series. It said the move was aimed at addressing complaints that there had not been sufficient ethnic diversity in previous series.

But New York councillor John Liu told the Associated Press: "The idea of having a battle of the races is preposterous. How could anybody be so desperate for ratings? The programme could encourage racial division, he added.

The campaign group Hispanics Across America called the programme "racist TV". Founder Fernando Mateo said: The participants will be held to the daunting and
unfair challenge of representing an entire race of people.

Based on an article from X Biz

On June 6, US Representative, Chris Cannon, proposed a new bill, HR 5528, titled the Pornography Jurisdiction Limitation Act of 2006. Under the terms of the brief bill, no court created by act of Congress shall have jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide a question of whether a state pornography law imposes a constitutionally invalid restriction on the freedom of expression.

In a statement, Cannon expressed concern over federal court decisions that have invalidated state anti-pornography laws.

For too long, Cannon said, federal courts have been creating a dangerous climate for our children by overturning important decisions by state courts to restrict pornography consumption and distribution within their borders. My legislation simply lets states decide for themselves how they tackle this problem.

With the rise of the online adult industry, a number of states — including New York, New Mexico, Michigan, Virginia, Arizona and Vermont — passed legislation designed to extend their existing pornography restrictions to the Internet. In each instance, the laws were thrown out as unconstitutional by federal court judges, who ruled that the state content regulations violated the 1st Amendment. The courts also ruled that state attempts to regulate online activity beyond their borders are a violation of the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which reserves that power to Congress.

The Free Speech Coalition, which is currently challenging a Utah law that provides for an email registry, strenuously opposes the proposed legislation. In a summary prepared by Legislative Affairs Director Kat Sunlove and FSC counsel Reed Lee, the FSC argued that the law would lead to the "Balkanization of expression in the U.S."

There is relatively little likelihood that Cannon's bill will make it into law. The same day that he introduced his bill, it was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and no further action has been taken.

Thanks to Mercury who wrote to the BFFC about Re-Animator:

I asked the BBFC about this some time ago and this was their reply

We recently waived the cuts for a forthcoming Film Four screening using our broadcaster advice screening.

You can also expect an uncut UK disc in the near future.

A white scarf was discretely added over an artist's depiction of a mermaid with an exposed breast on a poster advertising the 2006 Miss World contest, after officials in Warsaw's conservative administration deemed it too suggestive.

Rafal Olbinski obligingly placed a white scarf with the Miss World inscription across the offending body part, said his agent, Piotr Reichel. He: agreed to make the change at the request from the Warsaw promotion office.

This year's Miss World contest is to be held in the Polish capital on Sept. 30.

The city's symbol is a bare-breasted mermaid holding a sword and shield. Olbinski's poster originally showed a mermaid on a seesaw, the strap from her red top slipping over her shoulder to reveal one of her breasts.

Tadeusz Deszkiewicz, head of Warsaw city hall's promotion bureau, told The Associated Press that there is no doubt that Olbinski's original version was strongly erotic and we did not want to attach such aspect to the Miss World contest.

Warsaw's acting mayor is former Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, whose Law and Justice party espouses conservative moral values such as no sex outside marriage and strict controls on abortion.

A semi nude but modest photo of pregnant US pop singer Britney Spears was given the green light Friday by a Tokyo subway censorship board after being rejected for being too 'stimulating.'

The advertisement for the October issue of Harper's Bazaar features a nude and very pregnant Spears crossing her arms over her breasts was originally censored by subway operator Tokyo Metro Co.

After a revision to the 'stimulating' design that blacks out Spears from the waist down the subway operator deemed the orinial advertisement as fit for commuters as it shows the joy of bearing a child.

We decided to accept the photo as it is because it expresses maternal love and joy of bearing a child, the Tokyo Metro spokesman said. By revising the design, the initial intention to convey the message is not served.

The advertisements will be posted Monday at Tokyo's Omotesando station.

From Chortle
See also www.kafkabigband.com

A Scottish radio comedy series has been shelved by the BBC amid ‘anxieties over taste and decency’.

The Franz Kafka Big Band included a sketch, Rolf's Blasphemous Cartoon Time, that portrayed Rolf Harris drawing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The five-part series was due to air at a 10pm slot on BBC Radio Scotland from Monday. However, the corporation will now rerun the Glasgow-based troupe’s first series instead.

The show was billed as ‘sure to surprise even the most unshockable’ when it was commissioned.

The troupe’s Craig Stobo, told The Scotsman: The BBC wanted us to be the bad boys. Our mission statement is 'no sacred cows', so they knew what they were going to get. It's a case of be careful what you wish for, but we're gutted.

But on their website the group say: All this, is, of course fabulous news as being banned by the BBC is a surefire recipe for success.

Producer Nick Low added: Their idea of taste, decency and what's funny isn't the same as the people at the BBC It's all to do with whether there can be a compromise.

Other sketches featured a cow flying into New York's Twin Towers and the song The Candy Man rewritten to include such lyrics as: ‘Who can start a jihad? The Taliban can.’

A BBC spokesman said: Their new work is bold and it requires some fine-tuning.

It has been pointed out to me that the latest Ofcom code allows previously cut films to be broadcast uncut if the BBFC say that they would no longer cut the film if re-submitted today.

Given that Channel 4 are unlikely to break the code it seems a fair bet they have simply consulted the BBFC and found that an uncut version would now seem likely.

This stacks up with the 'informal advice' service offered by the BBFC that has cropped up a few times recently.

The only trouble is that the results of such informal advice are not published to the public and so we don't get to hear of some useful decisions.

The fact that a movie appears on TV uncut means that we can infer that the BBFC would now waive cuts on video/DVD. So if anyone spots an uncut showing we should make it known and perhaps a distributor can arrange then a re-release.

Maybe we can soon have an uncut DVD release of Re-animator

From AVN

National Hotel chains such Hilton and Marriot defended themselves from a recent attack by 13 nutter groups who took out full-page ads in some editions of the USA Today earlier this month, “urging the Justice Department and FBI to investigate whether some of the pay-per-view movies widely available in hotels violate federal and state obscenity laws.”

National Associated Press writer David Crary’s recent article reported that both Kathy Shepard of Hilton and Roger Conner of Marriott said the bulk of their hotels are operated by franchise-holders who make their own decisions about in-room programming. They made clear, however, that their companies consider adult movies to be an acceptable option because they can be ignored or blocked out by guests not wishing to view them.

Really ultraconservative groups try to target the hotels in their zest to eliminate porn, Shepard told Crary. In their zest to have their personal morals prevail, they're eliminating choice for others.

Conner told Crary that none of the programming offered by Marriott is illegal, and he depicted adult movies as a standard part of today's hotel business.

From SSO Net

Australian censors will allow Queer Screen to show a US documentary featuring real gay sex only if the explicit scenes are edited out.

The OFLC last week banned Queer Screen from showing controversial movie Damon And Hunter: Doing It Together in their annual gay and lesbian documentary film festival, queerDOC.

The film features a real-life couple talking about their love life and shows them having sex, including explicit shots of sexual intercourse, oral sex and masturbation.

Queer Screen had hoped a re-edited version of the film, which featured less explicit sex, would get an exemption for a one-off screening.

However, this week the OFLC insisted all explicit content had to be removed for it to be shown.

The documentary is already available to buy on DVD in Australia with an X rating – a classification which means it cannot be legally screened in a public place.

A new cut of the film, to be edited by the documentary’s New York-based director Tony Comstock this week, will be shown to the OFLC for approval.

Queer Screen’s festival manager, Lex Lindsay, said while the re-edit would be radically different to the original he hoped audiences would still be able to “get a taste of it”.

Last month Damon And Hunter was screened at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) where it was named best documentary.

MUFF director Richard Wolstencroft refused to comment on whether he’d been in contact with the OFLC about the screening. But he did say he was “shocked” by the decision to ban the original from being shown and, unlike Goldfish, thought it was discrimination. The film is a sensitive, honest and sensual exploration of male homosexuality. This censorship is further evidence of the subversive war being carried out by certain members of our government against gays and lesbians in our community.

Wolstencraft encouraged Sydney’s queer community to protest by playing the film at a secret venue in “a much needed act of civil disobedience”.

The cutting of this great film could surely only have been sanctioned by headless corpses.

Thanks to Colin

Just a quick message to say film four have just aired Re-Animator completely uncut. I just had a look on the BBFC website and its still cut. All hail film4.

Based on an article from IBN Live

A landmark Bombay High Court order is all set to firm up the requirement that all forms of TV must be suitable for children at all times

Expanding the scope of its earlier order passed on December 21, 2005, the High Court has said that apart from cable operators, both broadcasters and DTH service providers will have to follow the programming and advertising code and restrain from telecasting adult movies.

The order has also been made applicable to foreign channels which are downlinked in India from any foreign territory.

The cable operators bearing the brunt of police action in the last two days have welcomed the order since even the broadcasters have been made accountable in case of any adult movie being aired.

The court also came down heavily on the cable operators for shutting television signals for the last two days. The cable operators have also been instructed not to collect service charges for those two days when signals were blacked out.

The order also means that any movie with an 'A' certificate will now have to seek cuts to 'Universal' certification from the Censor Board in order to broadcast on television.

All eyes are now trained on the Broadcast Bill which is reportedly working out a provision to air adult content post 2300 hours IST.

Based on an article from Ofcom

A listener complained that a track played by the radio station, Kiss 100, contained the lyrics “suck me off, fuck me off”. They felt that these lyrics were offensive and unsuitable for broadcast at a time when children were available to listen.

Kiss 100 said that it regretted that an unedited version of ‘S’Express’ had been aired. The station had a vigorous procedure to ensure that all music selected for inclusion during daytime was fully compliant with the relevant Code rules.

The broadcaster assured us that since this incident, steps had been taken to ensure that all non-playlisted tracks included in the Friday afternoon mixes were pre-vetted and either edited as appropriate or excluded if the content was not Code compliant.

Rule 1.14 of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code states: The most offensive language must not be broadcast (before the watershed or) when children are particularly likely to be listening.

Although we appreciate that the station was introducing an initiative to include nonplaylisted material during daytime, more care should have been taken to thoroughly vet the material and exclude explicit or offensive language. However we welcome the broadcaster’s subsequent action and, in the circumstances, we consider the matter resolved.

Based on an article from Times of Oman

Cable television distribution firms in India's entertainment capital of Mumbai have suspended services following a row with police over erotic content on TV channels, industry officials and police said.

Cable covers almost three million homes in the teeming city, of the 3.3 million with a television set. The firms struck late on Monday complaining that they were being harassed by policemen trying to enforce a court order banning sexually provocative programmes on TV.

The police action came after the Bombay High Court rapped them last week for not complying with its order delivered last year asking them to prevent such content on television. Police raided the offices of nine cable distributors on Monday and seized transmission equipment and decoders on charges that they had violated the court order.

Last year's court order came in response to a petition by a Mumbai resident which said erotic content on TV was corrupting society and polluting young minds.

Adult entertainment and pornography are illegal in India and are not shown on cable TV. Last year's court petition targeted semi-nudity and steamy scenes in mainstream Hollywood cinema, titillating music videos and fashion programmes shown by cable channels.

There was a court order against adult programmes on TV. We are enforcing the order, said a Mumbai police officer.

The Act states clearly that such films cannot be exhibited in public, whether money is changing hands or not (section 3). I am sure that would include Festival screenings, where members of the public can attend. However, if you exclusively invited particular individuals to come and see the film at a private location (to which members of the public were not invited and could not apply to attend) that would probably be ok.

The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon

From The Times

One of the most eagerly awaited screenings at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival was cancelled last night after the organisers learnt that the film violated a 70-year-old animal cruelty law.

Cockfighter, a brutal American drama set in the Deep South, was shot on a shoestring budget and is notorious for its footage of real cockfights. It made little impression on its release in 1974 but is now regarded as a cult classic by many critics, who say that the magnificent, brooding performance of Warren Oates as the cock trainer is proof of the film’s merit.

Rarely shown in Britain, Cockfighter appeared to be an ideal choice for the festival’s retrospective of obscure 1970s masterpieces. However, according to the BBFC, showing it in public is illegal.

The festival organisers said that they were unaware of this until they received representations from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA).

Of course it’s disappointing, Ginnie Atkinson, the festival’s managing director, said. It is a very anomalous, strange situation, because there is a genuine, historical context for showing it.

A spokeswoman for the board said that the film contravened the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937 because the cockfighting scenes were organised for the purpose of filming. There’s nothing the festival organisers could have done. The Act makes it illegal to show any scene which was organised or directed for the purpose of the film involving actual cruelty to animals. If you cut the cockfighting scenes from Cockfighter it doesn’t have anything in it.

Cockfighter had a gala premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1974 and was shown at the National Film Theatre in 1995. Both screenings were illegal, according to the BBFC. The film is not available in this country because it has never been classified in Britain, but it can be bought on DVD abroad and imported.

Warren Oates plays Frank Mansfield in 1974's Cockfighter. Although outlawed in most states, cockfighting was legal in Georgia, and Oates portrays a top trainer. However, Mansfield is also a deeply flawed man whose success leads him to recklessness. On the night before a major fight, he impetuously enters a cockfight that ends badly. At that moment, he takes a vow of silence, which he will not break until he can regain his position in the sport. Throughout most of the movie, therefore, Oates is mute, with his thoughts serving as narration.

Warren Oates is truly great in this role. His weathered face and ability to portray unsympathetic characters in a likeable manner bring great authority to this film. Although perhaps best known for his appearances in Peckinpah films (The Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country), he also did extraordinary work in a number of lesser known 1970's films: Two-Lane Blacktop, Badlands, Rancho Deluxe.

Director Monte Hellman was a collaborator with legendary producer Roger Corman, and he's simply one of the most underappreciated filmmakers of the 1970s. He specialized in spare, low-key character studies, such as Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). This film is so vibrant because of his talent for using naturalistic settings and minimalist direction. His style is perfectly suited to this script, which was adapted by Charles Willeford from his novel of the same name. The book is out-of-print, but Willeford is a marvelous writer of noir and gritty fiction.

Despite being a solid character study, the film is probably of limited appeal. For the most part, the sport of cockfighting (if you consider it a sport) serves only as the background, and the characters drive the film. However, the sport is presented in an unflinching manner. The bloody and violent aspects of cockfighting are not glossed over in any way. Thus, this film is definitely not for people who are squeamish or extremely passionate about humane treatment of animals. In ways, though, the film is reminiscent of Peckinpah, who made violent deaths in The Wild Bunch seem almost operatic in their grandeur. Watching the cockfights depicted here is almost sickening, but Hellman manages to capture their bizarre magnificence as well. If you can set aside your distaste for the topic matter, then you will be treated to some great acting and directing and a truly unique cinematic experience.

A promising change of emphasis revealed by Franco

I wrote to my MP again, urging a decision on the extreme pornography bill. My wording was quite strong, I in fact stated it a sign of contempt by the Home Office for those who replied not yet to have provided an definitive reaction to the (overwhelmingly negative) consultation response.

Today I received back the reply my MP was sent on behalf of Home Office minister Vernon Coaker. It contains the usual wording on the government’s desire to ban possession of what is already barred from publication (itself an untruth, of course) and cites the large response as reason for the delays, listing various contributors. Nothing new there.

However, there are some key sentences within

• This is a difficult and sensitive area of public policy and the purpose of launching a public consultation exercise was to elicit as wide a range of views as possible
• We have been looking carefully at all the responses to see whether greater clarity is needed and how it might be achieved.
• We believe it is right to take time now to clarify these issues as we are considering legislation in an area which has the potential to affect many people.

I would conclude that currently there still is a desire by government to go ahead with this ill-conceived legislation, if only to save face.

However, note the change in tone. What previously was pure abhorrence and urgent need is now the consideration of ‘a difficult and sensitive area’. If government policy until now was as clear and concise as the proverbial sledgehammer, now one is ‘looking carefully… to see whether greater clarity is needed…’

Finally, if previously this legislation was only going to affect sexual miscreants and psychopaths with murderous intent, then now it has become ‘an area which has the potential to affect many people’.

If I am disappointed to see the government still wanting to go ahead with this nonsense, then I am encouraged to see that campaigning so far has dented their confidence sufficiently for them to change their tune considerably.

It hence may indeed be true that, with continued pressure by the letter-writing public, the Home Office might indeed decide to abandon this Orwellian nightmare.

Based on an article from Ofcom

In two separate cartoons Texas Tom and Tennis Chumps there were scenes involving smoking. In Texas Tom, Tom tried to impress a female cat by rolling a ‘rollup’ cigarette, lighting it and smoking it with just one hand. In Tennis Chumps, Tom’s opponent in a match was seen smoking a large cigar.

One viewer complained that these scenes of smoking were not appropriate in a cartoon aimed at children.

Turner, the licensee for Boomerang, conducted an extensive internal review of the Tom & Jerry library to reassess the volume and context of smoking in these cartoons. The licensee has subsequently proposed editing any scenes or references in the series where smoking appeared to be condoned, acceptable, glamorised or where it might encourage imitation (for example where, in Texas Tom, Tom tries to impress by smoking).

Turner believed however, that editing out all references to smoking, where such references neither glamorised nor condoned, might adversely affect the value of the animation.

Decision Rule 1.10 of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code states:

The use of illegal drugs, the abuse of drugs, smoking, solvent abuse and the misuse of alcohol:

• must not be featured in programmes made primarily for children unless there is strong editorial justification
• must generally be avoided and in any case must not be condoned, encouraged or glamorised in other programmes broadcast before the watershed, or when children are particularly likely to be listening, unless there is editorial justification
• must not be condoned, encouraged or glamorised in other programmes likely to be widely seen or heard by under eighteens unless there is editorial justification.

We are not aware of evidence from research in the UK that shows a direct correlation between children who see smoking on television with a greater propensity to take up smoking. However, broadcasters and Ofcom are required to protect those under eighteen and that protection is particularly important where the youngest children are concerned. There are concerns that smoking on television may normalise smoking. For precautionary reasons Ofcom expects broadcasters to generally avoid smoking in pre-watershed programmes.

We recognise that these are historic cartoons, most of them having been produced in the 40s, 50s and 60s at a time when smoking was more generally accepted. Depictions of smoking may not be problematic given the context, but broadcasters need to make a judgement about the extent to which they believe a particular scene may or may not genuinely influence children. We note that in Tom and Jerry, smoking usually appears in a stylised manner and is frequently not condoned. However while we appreciate the historic integrity of the animation, the level of editorial justification required for the inclusion of smoking in such cartoons is necessarily high. We will look at all such cases individually. Given Turner's commitment to adopt a precautionary approach, we welcome its review of archive material and action taken to minimise the possibility of harm.

Ofcom consider the matter resolved.

Based on an article from the BBC & Ofcom

Sir Elton was talking about the first anniversary of the Billy Elliot musical live on Channel 4's The New Paul O'Grady Show.

He said that when  one of the show's young stars asked his middle name, he replied it was Hercules. His real name, Reginald Kenneth Dwight, made him sound like a banker, or a wanker, one of the two, he said.

O'Grady ended the programme by saying: Sorry if it has been a bit raucous, ladies and gentlemen.

About 20 nutters complained after the show to the TV station. A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: It is a live show and Elton is a guest but Paul dealt with it there and then and apologised. She added: I don't think it is the strongest language, and we feel that Paul dealt with it appropriately.

In addition 10 people complained to Ofcom to which Ofcom concluded:

Ofcom’s research suggests that while this word is considered quite mild by most, a small minority of sections of the community (e.g. older people) find it quite offensive. This series does tend to attract an older audience and, in this context, the use of the word “wanker” was unfortunate. While the host did offer an apology of sorts, this was not definitive – And if we have been a bit raucous tonight, I’m very, very sorry but we’re highly excited really… - and went on to become a pitch for a late night series. It is possible that a more formal apology may have lessened the offence caused to some viewers, but we also recognise that the comments accorded with the style of the show and the level of language used.

However we recognise the steps taken by the broadcaster to prevent such language being used by guests in this live programme. We welcome the action taken by the broadcaster to re-emphasise the importance of these precautions. We felt that there was no need to intervene further on this particular occasion.

Ofcom consider the matter resolved.

From The Gauntlet

UK music TV channel Scuzz TV has banned the new video for Deicide’s Homage For Satan condemning it for being offensive and derogatory.

In a statement a Scuzz representative declared that: the lyrical content is religiously offensive, derogatory, and can be read as improper exploitation of any susceptibilities of the audience.

They further commented With regards the imagery itself, the inclusion of a priest or religious figure in any belief system is always a very touchy subject, but the possession of one such person, and the disparaging respect for the Christian Bible is in direct conflict with Ofcom regulations.

The video, featuring blood-splattered zombies on a rampaging mission to capture a priest forcibly underlies Deicide’s explicit stance against religion, yet is a representation of death metal at its best. The banning of the video coincides with the eagerly anticipated release of Deicide’s highly acclaimed album The Stench Of Redemption and effectively removes the chance for extreme music to be represented to a mass audience.

The outright banning of the video marks a worrying trend, as the station declares that they ‘generally don’t play death/black metal on Scuzz anymore’ yet boldly label themselves as a ‘rock hard’ channel.

To make your own mind up about the video you can check it out on You Tube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJkMrl4AG8w

From the BBC

Madonna has gone ahead with a concert in Dusseldorf despite warnings that German prosecutors were considering legal action over the show's content.

Prosecutors said they were to monitor the performance after receiving a complaint that the US pop star's act breached German laws against blasphemy.

But the German prosecutors admitted they would rely on media reports of the concert rather than send their own observers to decide whether further action should be taken.

A German Lutheran bishop has called for concert-goers to boycott all dates on the German leg of Madonna's tour.  Protestant Bishop Margot Kaesmann told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that concert-goers should boycott the show. I advise people to ignore Madonna. Stars come and go, but the Christian faith endures, Bishop Kaesmann added.

From IT News

The Communist government of Vietnam, already an active censor of Web sites with political or religious content considered threatening to its one-party system, is improving the technical sophistication, breadth, and effectiveness of its filtering technology.

This is the finding of research published in a new report on Internet censorship in Vietnam by the OpenNet Initiative, a partnership between the University of Toronto, Harvard University, Oxford University and the University of Cambridge.

The report said the restrictions on the Vietnamese Internet websites, email, blogs, and online discussion forums are similar to those imposed by China, relying on laws, technical controls, and education to restrict access to information. advertisement
hows dramatic change over time and bears careful monitoring of its development."

There is no definitive proof that governments in China and Vietnam are collaborating on their censorship tactics and technology, but anecdotal indications suggest it, according to Derek Bambauer, a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School: As far as filtering political content, they're moving into China's neighborhood, he says, estimating that the Vietnamese block anywhere from two-thirds to 80% of sites about opposition political parties, freedom of religion, human rights, and political dissidents.

Nevertheless, the Vietnamese government lacks the resources of its Chinese counterparts to devote to online content control and is also hamstrung by an underdeveloped infrastructure. Officials have acknowledged that some Vietnamese sites in the top-level domains are hosted on servers overseas because of the country's poor telecommunication system.

It's clear to us that a lot of countries are following the China model, Bambauer says. They want to have the Internet for economic growth and its benefits for education, but they also want to keep a lid on some of the challenges the Internet poses to an authoritarian system.

From Refused Classification

The SMH reported on August 9th that the NSW Council of Civil Liberties intends to challenge the recent book ban in the Federal Court. The two books, Defence of the Muslim Lands and Join the Caravan were banned by the Review Board in July.

The council's president, Cameron Murphy, said: We think Australia has a strong and robust democracy, and in a strong and robust democracy there should be a degree of tolerance that can accept material as unpleasant as this. The process of banning it is a slippery slope and one we shouldn't be going down.

From All Headline News

Three Vietnamese citizens were released after nine months in detention for participating in an Internet discussion about democracy. They were accused of inciting the population to "overthrow the government," according to Reporters Without Borders.

Truong Quoc Tuan, his brother Truong Quoc Huy, and Huy's fiancee Lisa Pham, were nabbed for joining a Voice over Internet Protocol chat on democracy at the Pal Talk website.

This is the end of a scandalous case in which three young Internet users spent nearly nine months in detention without being tried, the press freedom organization said: We call on the Vietnamese authorities to stop spying on chat forums. We also urge them to release the last two cyber-dissidents still being held in Vietnam, Pham Hong Son and Nguyen Vu Binh.

From Today Online

More Singaporeans will have the chance to see the Crazy Horse revue at Clarke Quay, thanks to yesterday's introduction of the new R18 (Cabaret) rating by the Media Development Authority (MDA).

Shows under the new classification are restricted to patrons aged 18 and above — down from the previous 21 years.

MDA's director of media content, Ms Amy Chua, said the authority had taken a long-term view of the entertainment scene as Singapore globalises and promotes itself as an attractive tourist destination. But it did not expect to see a proliferation of cabaret-type performances with the introduction of the new category.

What's all this with multiple layers of arbitrary watersheds? Ofcom recently revealed a midnight watershed for nudity on free to air babe channels and now we have an 11 pm Advertising on free to air channels

From The Register

An ad for a sex chat line that asked men to decide on a choice of breasts or legs has been pulled by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ad, which features "close up images of women in varying stages of undress", had been approved for showing after 11pm but, since that approval, the number voters were expected to text had been set to one starting "69" - a code reserved for "services of a sexual nature".

The combination was too much for one viewer who saw the ad on Paramount Comedy 2 and complained to the ASA. The ASA upheld the complaint, and now such advertisements must be restricted to encrypted channels, after 11pm

Based on an article from The Guardian

A six-point package has been  unveiled by EU interior ministers regarding a European response to terrorists threats. Part of this package of measures involves censorship of the media and Internet.

John Reid, the home secretary, said that they wanted to make the internet a hostile environment for terrorists and those who seek to radicalise young people. A new legal framework is to be developed by June next year to ensure that illegal material such as manuals or instructions for homemade explosives or bombs are removed from the internet. Websites that incite others to commit terrorist actions will be blocked.

The EU commission will also report next month on satellite channels that propagate extremism with a view to possible diplomatic steps.

From Channel 4

Concerning Ted Bundy: Natural Porn Killer, Channel 4 have  set up a Talking Point page: Your chance to have your say about hard-core pornography. Do we know what it is? Could we even ban it if we wanted to? Is there any evidence that pornography can be addictive?

There is an online poll and a link to a discussion that doesn't appear to have kicked off yet

From cbc.ca

The crucifixion scene, which drew fire from religious leaders in Rome earlier this month, features Madonna wearing a crown of fake thorns and performing on a mirrored cross.

Johannes Mocken, a spokesman for prosecutors in Duesseldorf, said that authorities would be watching her concert on Sunday to see if legal action is warranted.

The crucifixion scene could be construed as insulting religious beliefs, he said, but he admitted it might also be permitted under laws protecting artistic freedom.

In Rome, Muslim, Jewish and Roman Catholic leaders were united in condemning her performance, which drew 70,000 fans. Being raised on a cross with a crown of thorns like a modern Christ is absurd, Rev. Manfredo Leone said after last Sunday's performance. Doing it in the cradle of Christianity comes close to blasphemy.

From Reuters

China's censors are targeting on-line spoofs of films, celebrities and Communist icons in the government's latest campaign to regulate Internet content.

The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) is drafting rules to block Internet broadcasts of short films that mock officially approved culture, the Beijing News reported.

The report said China's broadcast authority will allow commercial web companies such as Sina and Tom to expand into broadband webcasts, but will also launch a severe attack on rule violations across the entire sector.

SARFT has established a quite advanced Internet audio-visual monitoring centre and plans to set up monitoring centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, Lui Jianhui, a censorship official at SARFT told the paper.

Despite existing regulations, a rash of unapproved video spoofs parodying popular culture and targeting iconic Chinese figures have emerged online in recent months, often created by hobbyists and some becoming hugely popular.

Ummm... I wonder if she will represent the interests of those that enjoy hardcore on TV?

From PublicTechnology.net

Ofcom has announced the appointment of Joyce Taylor as a non-executive member of its Content Board. Joyce will become the Content Board member for Scotland.

Joyce Taylor has extensive experience in broadcasting and has been the chair of Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Scotland since September 2005. Joyce will step down from the Advisory Committee with immediate effect. In the past she has been managing director of Discovery Networks Europe, CEO of Flextech Television and a non-executive director of Mersey Television.

Under Section 12 of the Communications Act 2003 four non-executive members of the Content Board are appointed to represent to Ofcom the interests and opinions of people living in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.

From Scripps News

The video game, Bully, from the makers of Grand Theft Auto has been called a Columbine simulator and an impetus for teen violence.

This week's announcement of the game's October release has seen more details emerge. Bully may be evolving into a benchmark game for issues ranging from censorship to the stature of video games as relevant social commentary.

Joan Bertin, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship said: Video games plainly have certain levels of subtlety that are not easily available to other genres. The story can move in a lot of different directions, depending on how you play it.

But Frank Bolanos, the Miami-Dade school board member who pushed for the game to be banned in his district, has a different view: It's just a violent game. It just seems to be profit-driven.

Bertin isn't surprised by that sort of reaction to Bully and a call to suppress it by the British government last December.

Terry Donovan, one of the founders of Rockstar, recognizes that gaming is going through an ordeal that other media have had to endure: History is littered with forms of expression that have been considered 'controversial,' only to be welcomed into the fabric of society as valuable creative expression a few years later.

Clive Thompson, video game critic for Wired News and contributing writer for The New York Times, calls video games this generation's rock 'n' roll: Video games are as divisive as rock 'n' roll was and they have created an experiential generation gap. It's that gap, Thompson thinks, that is sparking much of the outcry against video games: There are a number of reasons why games are more disturbing to people than movies or music. It is demographics; the people who are worried about them, don't play them and don't understand them. It's a perfect storm of misunderstanding.

Alice Taylor, executive producer with the BBC, says like television before it, video games are struggling for general acceptance: I think that's the case with any new technology or new system; people who haven't grown up with it think it's the devil.

From Computer World

The developer of proxy software designed to defeat Web filters is offering Internet users $10 to install and run his application, as a way to raise its profile.

Independent developer Bennett Haselton, creator of the Circumventor proxy software, announced late Thursday that he would pay the money to people who install Circumventor, send him the URL of the proxy and keep it running for at least a week. Haselton promotes Circumventor as a way for young people to defeat Web-filtering software at schools and libraries, but also as a tool for people living in countries that filter Web content.

We'll distribute the [proxy] URLs to people who need them, such as people serving in the U.S. military overseas (where Internet connections are censored to limit access to sites such as MySpace), and victims of totalitarian dictatorships such as China, North Korea, and high school, he wrote on his Peacefire.org site.

The U.S. House of Representatives vote in late July to approve the Deleting Online Predators Act, which would require many U.S. schools and libraries to block social networking sites such as MySpace, prompted Haselton to make the offer, he said in an e-mail.

Haselton will distribute the new proxy URLs on the Circumventor e-mail list, which has about 20,000 subscribers, he said. Paying $10 per computer is "a lot cheaper than paying for a dedicated Web host," he added.

Haselton said he hopes the $10 offer will give Circumventor an advantage over Web-filtering software vendors: It may help turn the tide in the cat-and-mouse game between anticensorship server operators setting up new Circumventor sites, and blocking software companies trying to catch up and block them.

From IGN.com

As result of trying to enact a law banning the sale of violent videogames (which was found unconstitutional), the State of Illinois must pay the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), game industry trade group, $510,528.64 in attorney fees.

Judge Kennelly's rulings send two irrefutable messages -- not only are efforts to ban the sale of violent video games clearly unconstitutional, they are a waste of taxpayer dollars, said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA. The sad fact is that the State of Illinois knew this law was unconstitutional from the beginning. Taxpayers have a right to know that over half a million of their dollars and countless government hours were thrown away in this fruitless effort.

The Safe Games Illinois Act would have required retailers to use warning labels in addition to the existing Entertainment Software Ratings Board labels. It also would have forced retailers to post signs within stores explaining the ESRB rating system.

In December 2005, United States District Judge Matthew S. Kennelly handed down a permanent injunction halting the implementation of the law. In his decision declaring the law unconstitutional, Kennelly sided with the ESA, writing, If controlling access to allegedly 'dangerous' speech is important in promoting the positive psychological development of children, in our society that role is properly accorded to parents and families, not the State.

Letter to the press from Mediawatch-UK

The Government must tackle the root causes of terrorism by banning bad language from TV. (Thanks to Mark for the picture)

Sir, The news today that knife attacks have risen by a massive 73%, despite the recent amnesty which succeeded in thousands of knives being surrendered, points to a crucial weakness in the rationale for dealing with this alarming problem.

We would certainly agree with Chris Eades, 9/8/2006, that the Government must tackle the root causes of violent crime and must adopt a more "coherent" strategy. Whilst focusing on the reporting of knife crime and political commentary on it, it is unfortunate that the Kings College Report fails to take into account the influence exerted by film, television and computer games in validating and glamorising the use of knives, and a range of other fearsome weapons, so much so that they have become merely fashion accessories.

The absence of any moral constraints encourages the false notion that using violence, physical and/or verbal, is the way to achieve your objective. This is particularly so in the virtual world of the violent computer game. We would certainly agree with this Report that there is a need to understand "the motivations for knife- carrying" and why young people should feel "unsafe" without one. If fictional macho heroes normalise the use of knives, and other offensive weapons, as our monitoring of films on television for the last 15 years shows, should we be surprised if real life is reflecting what is commonly portrayed on the screen?

One thing is certain: a coherent future strategy in tackling knife crime must embrace the portrayal of fictional violence in our entertainment.

From Business Day

Print and broadcast media could be the subject of strict censorship if changes to the Film and Publications Act proposed by the home affairs department became law, three media freedom watchdogs warned.

The Film and Publications Act regulates films and publications by censorship, and currently has a clause that exempts the news media from its provisions, enabling print and broadcast news to operate without interference.

The proposed amendment includes bringing news media under the act, which means both print and broadcast media would be subjected to the dictates of the Film and Publications Board, a censorship body.

The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef), the local chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa-SA) and the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said the exemption dated back decades, and it was even honoured by the Nationalist apartheid government

Home affairs spokesman Nkosana Sibuyi said he was not aware of any proposed amendments that would affect news media. He said if the amendments infringed on the freedom of the media, people were welcome to air their views to the home affairs portfolio committee.

However, Sanef councillor Raymond Louw, who received a copy of the proposed amendments earlier this week, said that on the surface it looked like an attempt to bring media under the act.

He said it was difficult to discern the department's motives, but we think that it is an attempt to censor the press.

From Backlash

A Home Office civil servant said today that a range of options have been put before ministers and a decision on whether to go ahead with a law is awaited.

Once the decision had been made the Home Office will publish the result of the consultation including the minister's decision. This can and will happen during the summer recess, we were told.

The Home Office also acknowledged that there have been several Freedom of Information Act requests and so are changing their practice and will make submissions received public, once they have minister's decision as to what will happen next.

From the BBC

Authorities in Malaysia have fined the organisers of a recent Pussycats Dolls concert for flouting decency laws.

Promoters Absolute Entertainment have been fined 10,000 Ringgits (£1,436) for allowing the female US act to perform "sexually suggestive" routines.

The penalty was imposed by the council which manages the Kuala Lumpur suburb where the event took place on 26 July.

The fine followed a complaint from Malaysia's culture minister Rais Yatim, who said the group's concert featured "scantily dressed performers" and "sensuous elements": I believe the way the Pussycat Dolls behaved on stage amounted to gross indecency.

From Boom Town

You may have read that Dead Rising is having a rough ride in some countries, with a censored version in Japan and rejection by the German ratings board. However here in the UK, the BBFC - a much more enlightened organisation in recent years - has passed the game uncut with an 18 rating.

Dead Rising is considered a fairly straightforward 18, said a BBFC spokesperson: We take the view that at 18, unless there is something harmful in the game, we have no reason to intervene as far as adults are considered, There is no clear evidence that playing games leads to copycat behaviour. We would only intervene if a game was going further than any other game in terms of interactivity and the 'thrills' it offers a gamer.

While Dead Rising is undoubtedly bloody, the cartoon nature of the violence meant the BBFC wasn't worried about the gore.

The game is gory, but it's not detailed and the violence is not sadistic, and it's focused against zombies. There's a fantasy element attached, and there's a sense of humour, albeit a macabre one. There's a lot of blood in the game, and the player is required to take gory photos, but there are no close-ups and no depictions of sexually motivated violence, which is something we might consider harmful.

From Trade Arabia

Web surfers in Bahrain are unable to access the popular Google Earth site. This follows a government decision to block access to the free site, according to local media reports.

The site allows people to see satellite images of locations all over the world.

It was reported in the Arabic Press that the decision came from Information Minister Dr Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar, but none of the Information Ministry officials could confirm this.

Batelco officials said the decision to block the site was not taken by the company, and that it had simply followed the written orders of the government. Batelco received the order from the Information Ministry to block the site without any reasons being given.

From the BBC

The BBC has defended scenes of sex and violence in recent EastEnders episodes after more than 250 people complained.

Viewers questioned whether a passionate encounter between characters Carly Wicks and Jake Moon was suitable for broadcast before the watershed. A scene of domestic violence, in which the character of Denise Fox lost a tooth, also drew complaints.

The BBC said the scenes were "within acceptable limits" and kept to the corporation's editorial guidelines.

The violent scene was the culmination of a long-running storyline. In the scene, Fox stabbed Turner with a fork after he accosted her in her house. Turner was then seen dragging Fox up the stairs by her hair. He hit her and she lost a tooth.

The BBC said it had received 128 complaints about the 4 August scene.

The sex scene, broadcast on 1 August, showed actors Kellie Shirley and Joel Beckett ripping off each others clothes and having sex on the floor of a nightclub.

Some 129 people contacted the BBC to complain about the explicit nature of the scene.

Harwood again apologised for causing distress, but argued that "any sexual activity was implied rather than explicit. The intention of the scene was to indicate the passion of a couple being carried away by the moment. Moreover, the storyline shows the consequences of relationships which are not based on genuine emotion.

From Out-Law

The US Senate ratified the Convention on Cybercrime on Thursday, the first international treaty on computer-related crime and the gathering of electronic evidence.

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar said the move will enhance America's ability to join with other countries in fighting computer crime internationally.

The United States was a leading participant in the negotiation of the Convention and expects it to have a significant law enforcement impact, particularly in terms of our ability to obtain assistance from other countries in the investigation and prosecution of trans-border computer-related crimes. In particular, it will enhance our ability to cooperate with foreign governments in fighting terrorism, computer hacking, money laundering, and child pornography, among other crimes."

The Convention, which also deals with copyright infringement, lists a number of substantive crimes that parties agree to prohibit under their domestic law, requires parties to adopt improved procedures for investigating computer crimes and provides for international cooperation in the investigation of such crimes. American law is already in compliance with the Convention, so no implementing legislation is required, making ratification a largely symbolic gesture.

The Convention was signed in November 2001 and came into force in July 2004. The UK has signed the Convention but has yet to formally ratify it. While ratification requires implementation of the Convention's principles into national laws, most of them are already in the UK's laws.

An Additional Protocol against racism and xenophobic material on the internet is not likely to be signed by the US because it is inconsistent with the country's Constitutional right to free speech. Canada became the 28th state and the first non-European country to sign the Additional Protocol last July.

From AVN

13 religio-reactionary nutter groups placed an ad in USA Today calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute companies which supply adult videos for hotel pay-per-view systems. Although the ad only appeared in the D.C. and New York City editions of the newspaper.

The Citizens for Community Values (CCV) were said to have played the leading role in the advert.

The specific targets of the ad, which is titled If what begins with a click can end as a registered sex offense, it's time we rethink hardcore porn, are OnCommand and LodgeNet, which are termed two companies ... largely responsible for flooding U.S. hotels with the majority of highly alarming and pornographic video content. Not explained in the ad are why such videos are "highly alarming," nor which particular sex offenses are "registered."

We are calling on the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to immediately investigate the companies that distribute it to determine whether 'adult' videos being sold in hotels by OnCommand and LodgeNet violate long-established Federal and State laws regarding distribution of obscene material, said Burress of CCV, who over the past few years has attempted to convince various Ohio and northern Kentucky prosecutors to strong-arm hotels into banning adult pay-per-view.

The ad opines that, It's high time America began thinking less of profiting from debasing women and more about prosecuting – under current laws – those who produce, sell and distribute hardcore porn.

Several of the nutter organizations sponsoring the ad are also signatories to a letter from the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, which urges religious people to ignore scientific findings proving the existence of global warming, and all oppose comprehensive sex education in schools, as well as condom distribution for HIV prevention in Third World countries.

Yeah, they care about men, women, children and families!

From X Biz

Proposed federal legislation called the Truth in Video Games Act, or H.R. 5912, would fundamentally alter the way the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) assigns ratings to computer and video games, and contains language that gives the Federal Trade Commission oversight of the ratings system.

The legislation proposed by Representative Cliff Stearns would effectively prohibit video game producers from failing to disclose its games’ content to the ratings board. The new rules also would stop producers from mischaracterizing content to circumvent the ratings board. The FTC would act as the arbiter of how “mischaracterization” is defined.

The ESRB was created by the Entertainment Software Association to function as an independent ratings board. The legislation would require the organization to view video games in their entirety before issuing a rating. Currently, the ESRB depends on producers’ statements about a game’s objectionable or adult content to assign a rating.

While there has been some movement to restrict the sale of violent video games at the state level in Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana and California, among other states, most of these measures have been unsuccessful and struck down by state judges.

Additionally, the bill would require the General Accounting Office to study the effectiveness of the ESRB and devise possible alternatives, suggesting a universal ratings system that spans across the various mediums of movies, music and TV.

From the Electric New Paper

China's Ministry of Culture has issued new rules to ban karaoke songs with 'unhealthy' lyrics so that they won't pollute the nation's morals.

Top on the censor's list is Go for Fun Alone, a chart-topper that has riled critics who say the lyrics promote defiance and independence after a love affair gone wrong.

Another tune that's on the chopping block is the raunchy hit Office, which describes a secretive, work romance.

The clampdown has puzzled the country's middle-aged citizens as most of the songs blacklisted are those popular with their generation. They believe that teenagers are the ones who are in greater need of moral safeguards.

The new law is now on trial in three Chinese cities and will be extended nationwide if it proves effective. Under the ruling, all of China's estimated 100,000 KTV lounges will have to join the government's new China Audio and Video Association and buy songs from a central database. While the authorities claim that the ruling will help combat piracy, critics believe that it is just a way for the government to get a cut of the profit from China's lucrative domestic music industry.

From Out in America

Canada Customs have seized copies of Cherry, by the British author, Charlotte Cooper, which were en route to the Bleeding Rose bookshop in Victoria, British Columbia, last week. Canada Customs also confiscated numerous copies of the book that had been sent to its distributors in North America. Cherry is an erotic novel about a woman's adventures in London's lesbian scene. It is published by Red Hot Diva, an imprint of Diva Books, which itself is a subsidiary of Millivres Prowler Group. The standard Customs form indicated that the book had been seized because it contained sexual scenes deemed obscene.

Whilst novels such as Irvine Welsh's Porno and American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis are allowed into the country, books by small independent homosexual publishers are refused. Mark Macdonald of Little Sister's Bookshop said: Canada Customs' decision to ban the book Cherry just shows their flagrant disregard for the directions of the Supreme Court of Canada. Their actions continue to be heavy-handed and blatantly homophobic. While this book is seized en route to queer suppliers, it can be ordered from Amazon.ca and other 'straight' retailers across the country. We are outraged that Customs continues to apply the obscenity legislation so clumsily and so inconsistently, and in ways that do not reflect current Canadian jurisprudence.

The list of authors whose work has been confiscated because of Canada Customs'
obscenity policies include, amongst many others, Kathy Acker, Dorothy Allison, Susie Bright, Patrick Califia, Dennis Cooper, Diane DiMassa, Marguerite Duras, bell hooks, John Preston, Jane Rule and David Wojnarowicz.

Cooper said: Whilst I am honoured to find my name amongst these venerable writers, and whilst I look forwards to the publicity and sales this ban will - ironically - bring me, state censorship by Canadian authorities is absolutely sickening.

From X Biz

Free speech online is facing its greatest legal opposition in a decade, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) said about two bills currently working their way through Congress.

The CDT commented on a broadband bill before the Senate that contains provisions requiring labeling for adult content sites and the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), which recently passed the House, that bans social networking sites from school and libraries.

According to CDT executive director Leslie Harris, free speech online is facing some of its most serious assaults since the passage of COPA in 1998.

The U.S. government continues to spend millions of dollars to fight successful court challenges to COPA, which requires adult sites to obtain proof of age before users can see adult content, Harris said.

Harris believes that both bills go too far in their attempts to protect children from pornography online and predators.

The adult labeling provision of the broadband bill requires any website with sexually explicit content to be labeled. According to the CDT’s director for Internet standards John Morris, such a requirement is overbroad because it would require labels for sites ranging from hardcore pornography to sex education. Labels would also be required for sites without photographic content, Morris said.

According to Harris, DOPA, which is sponsored by Representative Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., would give the FCC “remarkable power” to decide which websites can be blocked from schools and public libraries. DOPA violates the 1st Amendment by restricting an entire category of speech, Harris said.

From The Star

Police reports will be a form of control against Malaysian bloggers who post seditious, malicious and defamatory articles on the Internet.

Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said although the Government would not censor the contents, investigations would be conducted once a police report was lodged against a blogger: The police report will be a form of control by the Government to ensure bloggers do not the break the law

 He said individuals with proof that information published on the Internet was seditious, malicious and defamatory could lodge reports. The police could also direct the Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Mimos Bhd to conduct investigations.

Certainly, there is room for dissent...BUT... bloggers must realise that they cannot to publish lies, he said.

Apart from the police reports, Dr Lim said that the Government, through the MCMC and Mimos, had been monitoring certain websites to ensure that they did not cross the line. He advised people not to abuse the Government’s decision to leave the Internet uncensored.

In Kuala Lumpur Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow said some bloggers should be more sensitive of the items they post on websites. He said there should be some self-censorship of articles so as not to offend any group or religion or cause disharmony.

From Gulf News

Singapore authorities banned a play hours before it was due to be staged because it portrayed Muslims in a negative light.

In its first banning of a play since its was formed in 2003, the government's Media Development Authority said it was withdrawing the performance licence for Smegma as it was insensitive and inappropriate for staging.

Smegma undermines the values underpinning Singapore's multi-racial, multi-religious society. The play portrays Muslims in a negative light, the media authority said.

The media authority, which initially agreed to the public performance of Smegma, back-peddled on Friday and said it was worried that the play could create unhappiness and disaffection amongst Muslims.

According to the Singapore law, all public performances must be approved and licenced by a government-appointed official.

From the Jakarta Post

Councillors at Tangerang municipal council have urged Mayor Wahidin Halim to order the closure of nightspots at the Lippo Pinangsia Office Park complex in Karawaci district.

The entertainment venues clearly violate regulations. They must be shut down, councillor Aulia Epriya Kumbara said. Aulia said Wahidin had promised to close nightclubs and bars in the municipality after the enactment of two bylaws that banned prostitution and the sale and distribution of alcohol.

Another councillor, Hasanudin B.J., said nightspots in Pinangsia are not a new problem and it should not be a problem for the administration to order their closure.

From Reporters without Borders

Reporters Without Borders today condemned the Singapore government for putting pressure on on the Far Eastern Economic Review and four other foreign publications to censor themselves.

The authorities are looking for effective ways, including fear of prosecution and heavy fines, to intimidate these publications into censoring themselves, the worldwide press freedom organisation said. This is the latest threat against the foreign media, which are the only means of reporting independently on political and economic events in the country since the local press is controlled by the government.

The information, communications and arts ministry gave the monthly Far Eastern Economic Review until 11 September to comply with section 23 of the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act. The magazine has been registered as a foreign publication since it criticised the government’s domestic policy in 1987 but had an exemption from some legal requirements which has now been cancelled. It must have a legal representative in the country by the ministry’s deadline and pay a deposit of 200,000 Singapore dollars (100,000 euros). For other foreign publications, the International Herald Tribune, Time magazine, the Financial Times and Newsweek, have been ordered to do the same when their licences come up for renewal.

This crackdown follows an interview in the Far Eastern Economic Review with opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, who the magazine called a national “martyr” because of the many lawsuits against him.

The ministry said the press law serves to reinforce the government’s consistent position that it is a privilege, and not a right, for foreign newspapers to circulate in Singapore and that foreign media should simply observe the local scene and not interfere in the domestic politics of Singapore.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 140th out of 167 countries in its 2005 worldwide press freedom index.

From J. D. Obenberger, Attorney at Law, www.xxxlaw.net

On Thursday, July 27 2006, President Bush signed House Resolution 4472 into law, an enactment with profound effects for adult webmasters.

The definition of those who produce sexually explicit content now includes the class of persons who have been called "secondary producers" in the Regulations. That change seems to take effect immediately.

Secondary producers, eg adult webmasters  now have to maintain records of actors in hardcore scenes. Previously these records were maintained by the primary producer.

In addition new softcore material will also require the maintenance of records.

JD Obenberger maintains information about the new censorship law at www.xxxlaw.net and in particular tries to answer some of the following questions:

• When does HR 4472 Take Effect?
• Why Did Congress Enact the Section 2257 Amendments?
• What is the Practical Effect of the Changes in Section 2257?
• What Should a Webmaster Do to Comply with the Amendments?
• What Else did Congress do in HR 4472?
• What other Changes of Interest to Adult Webmasters did HR 4472 Make?
• Isn't There an Injunction Against Section 2257 Inspections?
• Isn't all of this Unconstitutional?
• What Should I Do If the Agents Come for an Inspection?

Home office response to Backlash who submitted a Freedom of Information Request to obtain the consultation responses

I refer to your email of 6 July in which you asked, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA), for all responses to the consultation on the possession of extreme pornography

Perhaps I could start by explaining that the deadline for responding to the proposals announced by Paul Goggins on 31 August 2005 was 2nd December 2005 and approximately 400 responses were received from organizations and private individuals. The Home Office is currently analysing the responses, and the result of the consultation exercise will be announced in due course. The intention is to make publicly available as many of the responses as possible, anonymized where necessary, at that time.

Turning to your FoIA request, we do hold the material you requested but I cannot release it as it is exempt from disclosure under s.35(1)(a) of the Act, i.e. information held for 'the formulation or development of government policy'. As you know, this is a 'qualified' exemption subject to a 'public interest test'. The argument for disclosure is that the public are entitled to see behind decisions so that they are confident that these have been taken only after full consultation and consideration of the issues involved. The counter-argument is that there are stages in the formulation of policy when it would not assist the process to disclose the information on which options are being formulated and decisions taken. Also there is the risk that consultees may be reluctant to contribute if they thought that their responses would be put into the public domain outside the established procedures for publishing the results of consultation exercises. In this case, I consider that the public interest in maintaining an effective consultation process is best served by not releasing the responses at this point. However, we are committed to releasing this information once the exercise has been completed.

I am sorry that we were unable to answer your request for information on this occasion. If you are not satisfied that your request has been handled in accordance with the requirements of the FoIA, you may ask for an independent internal review by writing to:

Home Office
Information Policy Team

From The Telegraph

The Vatican accused Madonna of "blasphemy and profanity" yesterday - and even suggested that she should be excommunicated over a scene in her current Confessions Tour.

Madonna brings her show to Rome on Sunday, and Roman Catholic leaders are furious at part of her performance in which she wears a crown of thorns and is apparently crucified.

Cardinal Ersilio Tonino, speaking with the Pope's approval, said: This is a blasphemous challenge to the faith and a profanation of the Cross. She should be excommunicated. To crucify herself … in the city of popes and martyrs is an act of open hostility. It is nothing short of a scandal and an attempt to generate publicity.

Another Vatican official, Bishop Velasio De Paolis, said: How this woman can take the name of the mother of Christ, I don't know. Her show represents the rotten fruit of secularism and the absurdity of evil.

From The Register

A complaint was submitted ti the ASA against Eidos Interactive for a magazine advert for Hitman: Blood Money. The picture showed a woman in her underwear with a bullet hole in her forehead and the headline: "Beautifully Executed". People complained to the ASA about the juxtaposition of death and sexuality.

Eidos said the ad was not about violent sex but was intended as a parody of a perfume ad - presumably that horrible Opium poster. The Edge magazine, where the ad appeared, said its readers were adult and hardcore gamers and none had complained.

The ASA said Beautifully Executed was a play on words and that it was unlikely to cause offense to adult gamers. The complaint was rejected.

From Asia Media

Malaysian Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik has come out to clarify the haze of confusion generated by Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin over the freedom of the Internet.
Lim said that the government would keep the previous adminstration’s pledge not to censor the Internet: It's difficult (to control the content) especially when you had given a promise when promoting the MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor). You have to go back on our word. Part of the article of guarantees of MSC was no censorship,

Asked if the ministry planned to regulate it in future, he reiterated: Not that I am aware of. Not at the present moment because we've given a bill of guarantees to the MSC.

But then Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi added to the censorship worries by issuing a warning against those who spread "incorrect information and slander" on the Internet.

In addition, there are tensions over groups debating religious freedoms, sparked by several cases involving conversions linked to Islam.

The Prime Minister has also warned those spreading vicious rumours through short message services (SMS): We cannot allow the Internet or SMS to become a platform for people to spread rumours or threaten others. These people are practising the sort of freedom where they spread lies if they feel like doing so. How can we have that? Where can you find that sort of freedom in the world?

The government has come under pressure to get tough after last Friday's pepper spray incident involving Dr Mahathir in Kelantan. Minutes after the attack, facts and rumours about what actually happened began to spread over cyberspace and via SMS. These included talk that he had been abducted, that police special forces were involved or that the attack was an assassination attempt. Police issued a warning to those who put out such unsubstantiated statements, making it plain that action could be taken against them.

From the Daily Mail
See a preview of the Terrorism Awards

Kick them in the stiff upper lip, then throttle their sense of humour!

Nutters have urged the BBC to pull a 'sick' new comedy show which features spoof news reports of Tony Blair being assassinated and a 9/11-style video of terrorists crashing an airliner into the Houses of Parliament.

The clips for an Oscar-style 'Terrorism Awards' ceremony that forms one of the sketches in the new BBC2 series, Time Trumpet.

As well as the al-Qaeda plane attack and a picture of Blair with a bullet hole in the side of his head after being 'shot as he slept beside his wife', the skit also features a Hamas bombing in Tel Aviv. It is believed it was made before the recent outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East.

To add authenticity to the clips, which appeared on the internet yesterday, The Terrorism Awards are hosted by BBC election veteran Peter Snow and Tomorrow's World presenter Philippa Forrester.

The satire is the work of Armando Iannucci, who wrote the award-winning recent Whitehall comedy The Thick of It and was the co-creator of Steve Coogan's alter ego Alan Partridge.

His latest offering has provoked outrage from MPs of all sides. Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon, said it was: absolutely sick. At a time when people are dying for real on both sides in the Middle East, to try and make fun of what's going on is the worst thing imaginable. Nothing is more sick than attempting to make a joke out of people who are dying. It's beyond the pale. The BBC governors should do something to stop this. And the fact that it could have been given approval by the BBC's editorial board is simply disgraceful.

David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth, said: It shows a distinct lack of taste and could even exacerbate the suffering of the July 7th bombing victims. The BBC receives a large amount of taxpayers' money and has a duty to use it responsibly. I can't see much comedy value in this at a time when all of us are at risk from terrorism.'

The Terrorism Award sketch features in episode three of the six-part series which starts tonight.

A BBC spokeswoman yesterday defended Time Trumpet, saying the sketches needed to be seen in the context of the whole series.It is a satire set in the year 2031, looking back at the events and people of today.

From Reuters

MTV India has been rapped by the local regulatory body for showing adult material on its network.

The Indian Information and Broadcasting Ministry ordered MTV India to run a scrolling message over the weekend stating that the network had violated rules by broadcasting a music video from an Indian film that had received an "Adult" certification by the Central Board of Film Certification.

The film, Aashiq Banaya Aapne (You Made Me a Lover) was given an "A" certificate -- as was its promo video. Usually, producers re-edit a promo video for broadcast if it has been given an "A" certificate but this did not happen in this case. The video was later pulled.

From the BBC

Viewers who are offended by jokes on motoring show Top Gear must accept such remarks will remain "an integral part of the programme", the BBC has said. "Provocative comments" by hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May must not be taken seriously.

The BBC said the audience should be "familiar enough" with Top Gear's tone to be able to cope with the jibes. Sarcasm was part of Top Gear's appeal, the statement stressed, and members of the public and participants were never immune from the team's acerbic comments and observations.

The BBC issued the statement on its complaints website after receiving 500 objections in six months. A BBC spokeswoman said there had also been "a number of calls" about a report on caravans broadcast on 16 July from viewers who were taking issue with various aspects of the feature.

From the BBC

Israel's ambassador to Norway has complained to press regulators about a cartoon showing Israeli PM Ehud Olmert as a Nazi concentration camp commander. Miryam Shomrat told the BBC that the caricature in Oslo's Dagbladet newspaper went beyond free speech.

Shomrat made the official complaint to the Norwegian Press Trade Committee following the publication of the cartoon on 10 July.

Lars Helle, Dagbladet's acting editor-in-chief, said the newspaper was taking the complaint seriously. He said the caricature was: within the bounds of freedom of expression. I do not fear that Dagbladet will be found guilty.

The cartoon shows Mr Olmert standing on a balcony in a prison camp. He is holding a sniper's rifle and a dead man is seen lying on the ground.

Howard Beal speech from the film Network: So turn off your television sets. Turn them off now! Turn them off right now! Turn them off and leave them off. Turn them off right in the middle of this sentence I'm speaking to you now. Turn them off!

From the Bangkok Post

The Violent and junk TV programmes as well as popular reality shows could contribute to mental derangement and physical ailments in young people, a specialist said recently.

Many children and their parents were unaware of the insidious threat, although a credible link could be established between watching the wrong kind of TV programmes and poorer health, said Suriyadev Tripatee, of the Dek Thai Mai Kinwan (Thai Children, Don't Eat Sweets) Network.

The frequent broadcast of disturbing scenes or news could inhibit alimentary function and blood circulation in youngsters who regularly watch TV over a long period of time, he said.

Dr Suriyadev said viewers could experience hypertension and an irregular heartbeat.

In the process, not enough blood was distributed to organs such as the stomach and the alimentary system, ''deactivating'' a person's appetite. At the same time, digestive fluid will be produced in the stomach which could cause ulcers.

He said many young viewers developed constipation, insomnia and an array of other ailments.

In children who play computer games, over-excitement could lead to convulsive attacks. Watching too much TV could cause heart conditions and memory loss and eventually derangement of the mind.

He is also worried that reality shows, in which contestants sometimes use tricks to win, could instil wrong social values in children.

Children may think getting what they want in whatever way they can is acceptable, and take for granted aggressive and sexually provocative conduct shown on TV.

News stories about violent behaviour should not be reinforced with pictures, he said.

Based on an article from Mainichi

Malaysia's disinformation minister has called for news Web sites to be subjected to strict government supervision to prevent them from publishing false or inflammatory articles.

Such measures were not intended to curtail press freedom... BUT... would instead minimize any online misreporting that could jeopardize public order and racial harmony, said Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin: From one perspective, controls on media content would raise the credibility of a Web site because the public would know that the published news is accurate and not based merely on rumors

Independent Malaysian news Web sites and Web journals with political content have become increasingly common in recent years. The government has pledged not to censor Internet content, but does so anyway with reminders to 'practice responsible journalism'.

Zainuddin did not elaborate on whether authorities would consider issuing formal guidelines or penalizing news Web sites.

Many of the sites are run by activists who say they want to offer an alternative to mainstream media such as newspapers and television, which operate under tight licensing and sedition laws that critics say has led to self-censorship.

All this 'justification' for a prohibition on R18 material, then they act on this 'justification' by allowing some R18 material. Beats me! Has anyone got an R18 screenshot that can be posted as proof of Ofcon double speak?

Letter from Francesca O`Brien of Ofcom to Rustin Mann on The Melon Farmers' Forum

In answer to your further points:

generally accepted standards

The Code does not have to change when "generally accepted standards" change in the community because the code refers to the generic phrase "generally accepted standards" and not to specific standards that people find harmful or offensive.

If you have read our statement you will be aware that the broadcast of R18s on encrypted channels with protections was deemed compatible with generally accepted standards by Ofcom:

Ofcom is therefore satisfied that generally accepted standards could be applied and that there are sufficient protections available now (e.g. scheduling, encryption, subscription etc) - to ensure that adults who do not want to view this material do not..

research

We take a view as to whether to conduct research dependent on many factors. Importantly is the research necessary for us to compete work in the annual plan.

At present we are considering further work on language eg different attitudes towards what is offensive language and the protection of children who participate in programmes. Both may assist us, broadcasters and viewers and listeners. It is not necessarily the case that either project will go ahead.

The Code and TWF

Yes broadcasters regulated by Ofcom must comply with the Code and TWF ( with certain exceptions in the case of the BBC and S4C).

Ban on R18

This is fully explained in our statement:

Ofcom ... concluded that the transmission of R18 material is compatible with Article 22 (1) of the TWF.

In the absence of evidence of “serious” harm to minors, there can be no justification for an outright ban on this type of material under Article 22 (1) of the Television Without Frontiers Directive (“the TWF Directive”). However, if the material is caught by the test of being material which is “likely to impair” the development of minors (TWF Directive, Article 22 (2)), then Ofcom still needs to be satisfied that suitable protections are in place to so as to ensure that minors will not normally see or hear such broadcasts, before the transmission of such material can be allowed.

Ofcom’s view is that measures currently available, such as PIN security and a late watershed, are consistent with the requirement that minors will not “normally” access these broadcasts. Article 22(2) does not therefore require a prohibition on the transmission of this material.

However, Ofcom is not bound to adopt the standards applied in other European countries. It must consider its policy in the light of the UK legislation and its specific duties under the Act.

"n addition to the European provisions [above], UK legislation namely, the Act places specific duties on Ofcom, in particular it sets out a standards objective to protect the under-eighteens (Section 319 2(a)). It also requires Ofcom to have regard to “the vulnerability of children and of others whose circumstances appear to Ofcom to put them in need of special protection” (section (3)(4)(h)). In light of this, if Ofcom is not satisfied that sufficient measures to protect the under-eighteens can be applied (for example, through scheduling and/or security mechanisms), then R18 material should not be transmitted.

In conclusion, taking all the above into account, Ofcom considers there is a significant risk, that a least a proportion of children would be able to access R18 material if it were to be broadcast under current security mechanisms. Given the strength of this material and the absence of evidence demonstrating that children could be effectively protected, Ofcom considers a prohibition of this material, in the current environment and for the time being, consistent with its objective to set standards to protect the under-eighteens.

Ofcom anticipated that responses to this issue would be polarized. We have assessed the arguments carefully, with particular reference to our statutory duties, the need to balance competing interests between the protection of children and freedom of expression and the available evidence including the recent research we have commissioned into the effectiveness of prevailing security mechanisms in the UK (as outlined in detail elsewhere in this assessment).

In view of doubts about the effectiveness of those security mechanisms, we have concluded that a precautionary approach was an appropriate and proportionate response to this strong sexually explicit material. Such an approach is consistent with that taken by Parliament when the “R18” category was introduced under the VRA (and see recent judgement of the Divisional Court on Interfact Limited and Pabo Limited v Liverpool City Council [2005] EWHC 995 (Admin) where an approach designed to eliminate as far as possible the risk that such material might be viewed by persons under-eighteen and which confirms a wide degree of discretion to individual member states in terms of restricting freedom of expression.

We believe that we would be failing in our responsibilities under the Communications Act 2003 if we were to remove the current prohibition on the broadcast of “R18” material at this time. We consider that retaining the prohibition is necessary, appropriate, proportionate and targeted to an area where it is necessary, in all the circumstances.

However, we accept that future developments might make it possible for more secure protections to be put in place in the future. We are therefore willing to consider whether to review this issue again in the light of relevant developments.

Accordingly, the broadcast of “R18” and “R18” equivalent material is not permitted at present.

strength of R18s

Again we address this issue in our statement:

Overall, Ofcom acknowledges that PIN mechanisms in the current broadcast environment do provide protection for minors to some extent and should therefore continue to be used as a form of protection against the sort of material currently broadcast, along with a watershed and clear information. But it should be noted that the potential harm/offence that could be caused from exposure to material currently available in the broadcast medium is limited - because of the limited nature and strength of that material.

Conclusion

You express your belief that the prohibition on the broadcast of R18s by Ofcom licensees is incompatible with the law. That is not the view of Ofcom. As our statement demonstrates we considered the legal framework very carefully and we believe that we have complied with the law.