egafd.com

My favourite subject. In a nut shell:

Ofcom?s main duties are to as laid before Parliament in The Communications Act 2003:

* Further the interests of citizens and consumers in the UK.
* Secure a wide range of high quality TV services likely to appeal to a variety of tastes.
* Secure standards that protect the public from harm and offence.
* Make regulation transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted.
* Ensure "adequate" freedom of expression.
* Ensure children are adequately protected.
* Ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are catered for.
* Consider the opinions of viewers in relevant markets and the public generally.

Ofcom must also:

* Remove regulatory burdens were possible.
* Establish a content board separate from the main Ofcom board (board of Censors).
* Ensure that the content boards decisions have "significant influence".
* Carry out consumer research into the views of the public and others.
* Create standards codes to ensure that every thing above is secured.
* Notify the Secretary of state if any foreign services offend against taste and decency.

Ofcon`s Code is not legislation, it is a set of guidelines for TV broadcasters, made under a requirement by the law and thus should conform to the law.

How can they not allow EU strength? Well accoring to EU case Law (which must be written into UK legislation) they can't. According to the Television Without Frontiers Directive - they can't. In fact there is no legislation in UK law that prevents the broadcast for legally available material.

So why don't they?

Well they don't think that PIN protection is enough to protect children from the "harm" of pornography.

However if we cast our minds back to November 2004. The entire encryption service died as a transponder was changed on the Red Hot Network. All encrypted channels were locked out entirely as unviewable. Proof that that PIN protection is much safer than conventional encryption methods.

Because there is still shit loads of money in softcore.

No because non of the broadcasters have the balls to it. I can walk 100 yards from my front door and buy a magazine, (in a shop which sells sweets to kids and People's Friends to their grannies) showing anal sex, dp, cumshots, dildos etc. Yet I can sit in my locked flat, on my own, and not be allowed to see anything of the ilk on a PIN protected and encrypted satellite channel. Beggars belief.

The Human Rights Act doesn`t give you the right to demand to have a broadcaster schedule R18 porn, just because you want to watch it, any more than I can demand they schedule pioano concertos on a Saturday evening.

s6(1) of the HRA says:

"Acts of public authorities. 6. - (1) It is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right."

And s7 says:

" 7. - (1) A person who claims that a public authority has acted (or proposes to act) in a way which is made unlawful by section 6(1) may-

(a) bring proceedings against the authority under this Act in the appropriate court or tribunal, or
(b) rely on the Convention right or rights concerned in any legal proceedings,
but only if he is (or would be) a victim of the unlawful act."


So, as the law states, the onus is on the individual person whose rights are infringed or potentially infringed, to bring an action. ie you or me.

Well I have shit loads of correspondence to and from various folks at Ofcon including the Ofcon board. And folks like Paul Tavenor from Ofwatch (who posts here occasionally) and various Melonfarmers are a constant thorn in their side. They are kept on thier toes.

But you have to know how to complain and not get put down as a "Vexious Complainer" as then you are simply filed under B for Bin.

There are various petitions about (worthless after the Pay-as-you-go Road Tax debacle) but no-one as far as I know is persuing a Judicial Review or any form of Legal Challenge.