Procedure completed
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
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Opinion | LIBE | LINDHOLM MaLou (V) |
Legal Basis RoP 132
Activites
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1997/11/10
Final act published in Official Journal
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1997/10/24
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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T4-0526/1997
summary
In adopting the report by Mr Philip WHITEHEAD (PSE, UK) on the Commission Green Paper on the protection of minors and human dignity in the audiovisual services, the European Parliament notes that all the Member States have legislation enabling them to make illegal certain types of information or programmes but that solutions at national level are not satisfactory. It therefore calls on the Member States as far as possible to make use of the European framework regarding justice and internal affairs so as to establish a joint set of basic values and rules in this area and develop the necessary cooperation between the legal and police authorities concerning the identification, prosecution and penalization of all illegal activity. The Commission should be given the necessary to drawn a minimum set of legislative provisions regarding illegal content. Member States are called on to draw up a legal framework by 31 December 1998 setting out minimum standards regarding illegal content in audiovisual and information services. They are also called upon to ratify international texts for the protection of children and the promotion of international coordination within the United Nations, the WTO, the G7 and the OECD. Member States are also urged to cooperate at administrative level with EUROPOL in order to combat more effectively the dissemination of illegal material. Parliament calls for content and access providers to be required to comply with legal standards and assume full liability as regards the content they themselves have provided, together with liability as regards outside illegal content made available by them if it is technically feasible and reasonable to prevent dissemination. As regards decisions on legal content which may possibly compromise the protection of minors and human dignity the content and access providers must lay down standards open to public scrutiny and bodies to provide voluntary self regulation. The codes of conduct drawn up must have a wide definition of harmful content to protect minors effectively. Finally Parliament stresses the crucial role of individual and the family in exercising their responsibilities and critical faculties ('home filtering') which can only be complemented by the public authorities. It also calls on the Commission to promote at European level measures to increase adults' media awareness and involve them in media education. A European campaign and programme of action financed by the EU budget must be implemented to inform parents about the impact of illegal content on minors.�
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T4-0526/1997
summary
- 1997/10/23 Debate in Parliament
- #2022
- 1997/06/30 Council Meeting
- 1997/06/19 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
- #1988
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1997/02/17
Council Meeting
- #1981
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1996/12/16
Council Meeting
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1981
summary
The Council took note of the complementarity between the Green Paper and the communication from the Commission concerning messages with an illegal and harmful content transmitted via the Internet, in accordance with the resolution that the Council and the representatives of the Member States, meeting in Council session, adopted on 28 November 1996, which underlined the need for a more detailed examination of the two documents. The Council also acknowledged the timetable that had been proposed by the Commission, which provided for an in-depth consultation with interested parties, based on their observations on the Green Paper, during the course of the first half of 1997. The Council asked the Commission, operating within the area of Community competence, to continue to work on the Green Paper until the next meeting of the Audiovisual/Culture Council and in particular to put forward new initiatives, if these should prove necessary.
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1981
summary
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1996/11/28
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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1996/10/16
Non-legislative basic document published
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COM(1996)0483
summary
OBJECTIVE: the Green Paper sets out to examine the challenges that society faces in guaranteeing the protection of minors and of human dignity in the audiovisual and information services. It seeks chiefly to raise questions and to set certain general guidelines in order to strengthen debate on this subject. Contributions from the sectors concerned in response to the Green Paper should be addressed to the Commission no later than 28 February 1997. SUBSTANCE: the Commission deals with the subject in three main chapters: - the first deals with the development of new audiovisual services, - the second analyses the existing legal frameworks for the protection of minors and human dignity, - the third analyses the situation at Union level. - Development of new audiovisual and information services relevant to the protection of minors: the Commission considers that solutions have to be designed to take account of the type of content of the proposed services. These solutions must be adapted to the evolution of the services. Thus new television services, such as pay-per-view, provide greater individual choice and are evolving away from the mass media model viewed by everyone (publishing model where the spectator selects his or her programme from a vast choice). On-line services take this evolution further towards the individual communication model. The development of all these systems requires a flexible framework in regulatory terms as each new service has its own risk. The difficulty often resides more in the characteristics of new services than in their content. - Analysis of existing legal arrangements: Europe has a common approach - the principle of freedom of expression recognized in all the Member States (Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and the test of proportionality (test of conformity of any restrictive measures with the fundamental principles laid down in the Convention). Beyond this common basis the actual regimes in the Member States vary greatly and reflect differences in cultural and moral standards. In general terms, the new services can create specific new problems with regard to the enforcement of legal provisions (in particular as regards liability when several operators are involved in the communications chain). Solutions must therefore be found to deal with these conflicts of liability. This chapter examines the problems related to the protection of minors against harmful, but not necessarily illegal (e.g. pornography) content. Some states already have strict legislation. However, whether or not the legislation of the states is strict, the implementation of protection measures requires means which ensure that minors do not access such services. In this field recent technological developments can provide new solutions through greater parent control, both in the television (anti-violence or v-chip) and on-line (PICS) environments. These new possibilities offer the advantage that prior censorship is not needed. They also help to increase the effectiveness of self-regulation. - Analysis of the situation at Union level: the freedom to provide services is one of the four basic freedoms guaranteed by the Treaty. However, restrictions are possible for reasons of public interest (such as the protection of minors). In the fight against illegal content cooperation between the Member States is identified as having a fundamental role to play given the international character of the new services. By cooperating and coordinating their initiatives the Member States will be able to counter more effectively illegal use and content. There are various options for improving cooperation between national administrations and with the Commission: systematic exchange of information, joint analysis of national legislative provisions, establishment of a common framework for self-regulation, recommendations for cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs, common orientations for international cooperation. There are also opportunities to encourage cooperation between the relevant industries (codes of conduct, common standards for rating systems, promotion of PICS). Possible user awareness and information measures are also put forward for debate. - Lastly, the document concludes with nine questions, to which all the authorities, industries and associations active in this sector can respond, for further debate by the Commission. Actions will be taken in the light of the responses received. �
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COM(1996)0483
summary
Documents
- Non-legislative basic document published: COM(1996)0483
- Debate in Council: 1981
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A4-0227/1997
- Debate in Council: 2022
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0526/1997
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