The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) said last week that
extending the Television Without Frontiers (TVWF) Directive to new
media broadcasting would be damaging. The move would "risk
dramatically reducing Europe’s competitive edge and stifling
innovation," according to an MEF statement.
The group claimed that any regulation of advertising as strict
as that designed for traditional – or linear – television would
threaten advertising revenues. But a Commission spokesman has said
that even if new media services are regulated the same rules will
not apply to them as currently apply to television.
"There will be no restrictions on the amount of advertising on
non-linear services," spokesman Martin Selmayr told news site ZDNet
UK. "Content will be subject to minimum rules. Advertisements must
be identified – there is a transparency requirement."
The MEF represents mobile phone networks and content companies
and opposes the application of traditional regulation to a new
industry.
“We agree that an effective legislative framework will create
the level playing field necessary to foster technology and service
innovation, however we feel the proposed amends to the TWF
Directive are premature and could stifle the growth of the nascent
mobile entertainment industry," said MEF chairman Patrick
Parodi.
"New user-centric mobile video and music applications are some
of the fastest growing, most innovative audio and video services in
the world," said Parodi. "For Europe to become the region where
these services are first developed, it will need to adopt a
regulatory framework that provides the sufficient breathing room
for these to find a place in the market and evolve to fit the needs
of consumers."
The MEF has submitted a paper outlining its concerns to Viviane
Reding, the Commissioner for information society and media.
The Commission's spokesman told ZDNet that the Commission plans
to subject new media broadcasting to a set of minimum standards
that fell far short of those for traditional television makers.
"Today the mobile industry is part of daily life and provides all
kinds of content," he said. "It should abide by minimum rules."
Regulation of the growing number of forms of media is already
posing problems for law makers. A new international broadcasting
treaty under negotiation by the World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) caused significant upset amongst podcasters in
June.
The treaty also plans to apply some principles of traditional
media to new media, which drew the ire of new media content
creators.
"We don't mind regulation, we just want it to be reasonable,"
Dean Whitbread, chairman of the UK Podcasters' Association, told
OUT-LAW at the time. "Podcasting and broadcasting are not the same.
I don't think as podcasters we should be subject to the same
legislation."
