Photo © Anatoly Vartanov – Fotolia-200
(BRUSSELS) – Children should have the same protection whether they are watching television, a web-shared video or a web-streamed film on the Internet, a European Parliament committee urged on Tuesday.
The Parliament’s Culture Committee advocated tightening up the child protection provisions of EU rules on audiovisual media services and also those on advertising and promoting European audiovisual works. Their ideas still need to be endorsed by Parliament as a whole.
Under the rules, video-sharing platforms would need to take corrective measures if users flag any content as inciting violence, hatred or terrorism. The platforms would need to put in place an easy-to-use mechanism allowing users to report content and be informed of measures taken.
MEPs also proposed banning advertising and product placement for tobacco, electronic cigarettes and alcohol in children’s TV programmes and video-sharing platforms.
“One of our main priorities is the protection of minors,” said rapporteur Sabine Verheyen MEP: “We proposed adapting some of the rules applying to programmes on television to internet services, such as rules on advertising, product placement and sponsorship. Certain advertising in programmes aimed at a children’s audience will be restricted, allowed only to a very limited extent or will be prohibited in general.”
For TV advertising, MEPs agreed on new rules imposing a maximum 20 per cent daily quota, giving the broadcaster flexibility to adjust advertising periods.
MEPs also called for a 30 per cent quota of European works in on-demand platform catalogues, instead of the 20 per cent proposed by the EU Commission. This quote should include works in the languages of the countries where they are distributed.
Under the amended rules, EU member states could ask on-demand platforms to contribute financially to the development of European audiovisual productions, either by investing directly in content or by contributing to national funds. Their contributions should be proportional to their revenues in the country where they would contribute.
While increasing quotas for video-on-demand offers does not necessarily lead to new European audiovisual content, it is a clear EU policy signal, said rapporteur Petra Kammerevert MEP. “Such a quota should be achievable and should not be an undue burden on anybody,” she said. “At the same time, we want to enable member countries to commit video on demand platforms to payments of national film funds that can stimulate the production of new European works”.
Parliament as a whole will decide on 15 May in Strasbourg whether to open inter-institutional talks, for final approval of the legislation, on the basis of the committee proposals. The EU Council plans to adopt its negotiating mandate on 23 May.
Further information, European Parliament
