In case anyone is interested, OfCom have announced plans to "regulate" Video On Demand. The consultation closes on 26 Oct. You have been warned.
More info at
OfCom Consultation
Apologies for another boring post.
Not boring at all mate, thanks for the information.
It looks like ofcom's picking up were channel 4 left of. Hmm so much for Big Brother being cancelled.
made an interesting read that
they surely have absolutely no right to do this ?
I am very concerned that the government seem to be backing this - seems we can no wave goodbye to net neutrality
What is the exact difference between video on demand and anything else on the internet?
From what I can gather from reading the consultation - and bearing in mind my total lack of training in reading draft consultations for legislatory bodies - it seems to apply to services such as the BBC iplayer, ITV Player, 4OD, Virgin's web player, Tiscali TV, Joost and probably Hulu if it ever gets around to launching in this country as well. Which is to say, it will apply to those companies who are already subject to a broadcasting license from Ofcom, as well as those who wish to offer a "television like" service, such as Tiscali TV, Joost, Hulu etc. While it would impact on videos downloaded or streamed from established TV companies and those wanting a slice of that particular pie, it wouldn't affect web browsing generally.
The ominous phrase is "television like", which isn't anywhere near specific enough for my liking. If some rabid, moralising M.P., goaded by a Mary Whitehouse figure, or a suitably virulent newspaper campaign so chose, they could petition to have
any site which carries streamed video to be deemed as "television like".
For my own mind, these proposals are unworkable. How does a provider know with 100% certainty, or even 50% certainty for that matter, that the age verification steps they implement are restricting videos to an age specific group? Some quick arithmetic can see any 12 year old with a semi-functional brain bypass one of those "Please select your birthdate" messages.
While I sort of agree with the gist of the idea^, I'm always nervous about seeing increased power go to a legislative body. I'm a firm believer that bureauracies implement power creep and don't expect that it would remain applied only to those who operate within the mainstream of viewing content.
^
Hypothetically speaking; if I had a 10 year old child, I wouldn't want to log on to the BBC iplayer for them to see the latest episode of Doctor Who, leave the room and come back to find them watching Baise Moi or The Brown Bunny on the BBC's website^^. The same feeling applies to any mainstream broadcaster.
^^
Of course I agree with the notion of parental responsibility, however parents should also have access to media services that are family safe, at least within the current watershed times. Meals need to be cooked, dishes washed and so on. Anyone who thinks a child can be watched 24/7 is quite frankly, a moron, with zero understanding of how real life works.
(16-09-2009 07:49 )rusty legrand Wrote: [ -> ]What is the exact difference between video on demand and anything else on the internet?
Full explanation of VoD service as an accepted technical term
here. As the phrase is currently employed, BBC iplayer is VoD; X*videos is not. The worry for myself and others is that a suitably motivated government could apply the term far more loosely than in the linked wikipedia entry.
(16-09-2009 07:49 )rusty legrand Wrote: [ -> ]What is the exact difference between video on demand and anything else on the internet?
Given their track record, it's what OfCom wants it to mean, so don't be surprised if it covers any moving pictures available at a click. And they might include downloads. Definitely Channel4 and BBC on demand services, as well as the BT service. Probably any live webstream (Adult Live, SexStation, HotBox). Add in any recorded stuff that can be played onscreen with a single click (
http://www.babevideo.co.uk/, Y.o.u.P.o.r.n, R.e.d.T.u.b.e, DailyMotion). Probably not files that have to be downloaded, saved, converted from RAR, before being played (Rapidshare etc), but don't count on it. And they'll get the internet providers to sign up to a "voluntary" scheme where foreign video is blocked unless it comes from a country that has signed up to a control scheme.
Adult verification - it'll mean more than typing in your age. OfCom have slammed satellite channels for websites that use just that. You'll have to provide some form of tracable ID, such as a credit card payment, same as for encrypted satellite channels.
And they'll limit it to times of day when kids aren't around.
Or does anyone think OfCom will just roll over, have it's tummy tickled and let the opportunity pass by ?
DanVox, I think this issue may now be out of Ofcom's dispicable mits.
The Comms Act was amended via SI in December.
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/uksi_20092979_en_1
Quote:368E Harmful material
(1) An on-demand programme service must not contain any material likely to incite hatred based on race, sex, religion or nationality.
(2) If an on-demand programme service contains material which might seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of persons under the age of eighteen, the material must be made available in a manner which secures that such persons will not normally see or hear it.
By Ofcom's own admission in 2004, R18 doesn't pose a risk of causing any serious impairment to under 18s. It thus needs no special 'manner in which to secure it' under clause 368e(2) and, as the law quite clearly says, 'it must be made available' whether it might cause serious impairment or not.