Polish your IP

Amendment of the Act on Radio and Television Broadcasting – attempt to control the Internet?

On 4 April 2011 the Polish president Bronisław Komorowski has signed an amendment of the Act on Radio and Television Broadcasting. The amendment is a late implementation of the Directive 2007/65/EC – the deadline for implementing the Directive already lapsed on 19 December 2010, so the Polish government was in a hurry to pass the act to avoid fines.

The initial wording of the amendments caused an incredibly heated debate over the Internet. The amendment was named by the Internet-users as “a chain on the Internet”, “the end of free Internet”, “an attempt on video on demand”… The reason for the outrage was the fact that the initial wording of the amendment attempted to regulate VoD broadcasting. 

VoD broadcasters would be obliged to register in a special record held by the President of the National Broadcasting Council (the administrative body responsible for controlling radio and TV-broadcasters). The amendment was to cover only those webpages which provide VoD in terms of their business conduct, however, the unclear wording of the amendment left it really uncertain as to who finally would be found to be infringing the new regulation in case he did not file for registration. The proposed amendment was also strongly criticized by the Bureau of Research of the Chancellery of the Sejm (supporting the Polish parliament – Sejm – in the legislative process with academic advice). 

„No for totalitarian rules. No for the amendment” – one of the Internet “posters” against the amendment of the Act on Radio and Television Broadcasting

The discussion over the Internet on this issue resulted in a debate with the Prime Minister, who finally promised to remove the controversial regulations. The amendment of the Act has been passed without regulating VoD at all.

The final wording of the amendment left a requirement of registration in a record of the National Broadcasting Council, however it now refers to broadcasting television programmes via Internet only, solely or simultaneously with television broadcasting. A fine for such broadcasting without being registered in the record may be up to 10% of the broadcaster’s income gained in the year preceding the fine.

Apart from the abovementioned, the amendment, inter alia, requires the broadcasters to facilitate the reception of the TV programmes by the handicapped and radio broadcasters to play more Polish music.

After the Act had been signed, an immediate meeting of the group that is to work on a new act, dealing with video on demand issues, was held. Therefore, probably in a short time a new outburst of the conflict will move over the media…

Author: Rafał Kłoczko

On any questions on this issue contact: Rafał Kłoczko

Author: admin