COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 16.10.1996 
COM(96)483 final 
GREEN PAPER ON THE PROTECTION OF MINORS AND HUMAN DIGNITY IN 
AUDIOVISUAL AND INFORMATION SERVICES 
(presented by the Commission) 

CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTION 1 
SUMMARY 3 
CHAPTER I The protection of minors and human dignity: 
Context and issues 6 
1. The protection of minors and human dignity 6 
2. The changing context 7 
3. The extent of the problem by type of services 10 
CHAPTER II Rules and enforcement measures applicable 
to protection of minors and human dignity 12 
1. Common general principles 12 
2. The rules and resources deployed in the national context 13 
2.1. Protection of human dignity 13 
2.2. The protection of minors 15 
2.3 Media education 20 
CHAPTER m The European Union context 21 
1. Principle of free movement of services 21 
2. Cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs 22 
3. Priority lines for cooperation in the European Union 23 
CONCLUSION 25 
ANNEXES 
C\ 
INTRODUCTION 
This Green Paper sets out to examine the challenges that society faces in ensuring that 
two specific issues of overriding public interest i.e. protection of minors and of human 
dignity, are adequately taken into account in the rapidly evolving world of audiovisual and 
information services. The transition from a broadcast world to an environment where 
conventional television will exist alongside on-line services and indeed hybrid products 
creates a host of opportunities. The full potential of such developments will depend on 
society as a whole striking the right balance between freedom of speech and public 
interest considerations, between policies designed to foster the emergence of new services 
and the need to ensure that the opportunities they create are not abused by the few at the 
expense of the many. Certain facets of these issues require European, indeed global, 
solutions. Others remain a matter for individual states or for individuals themselves. The 
Commission believes that it is legitimate and necessary in this framework to analyze the 
situation as a whole, in order to examine the added value that each level of government 
should play, while paying special attention to policy initiatives at European Union level 
with due respect for the principle of subsidiarity. 
The issues studied - the protection of minors and of human dignity - are currently high 
on the political agenda. They are identified in the first annual report of the Information 
Society Forum, adopted in June 1996, as being among the priorities for legal protection. 
They also have consistently been dealt with - by national and Community policies - as 
issues of overriding public interest. Legal and others measures in this field have naturally 
been designed as a function of the characteristics of traditional electronic media (broadcast 
television and radio) which are centralised in nature and instruments of mass 
communication. The new emerging services have two fundamentally different 
characteristics - they are decentralised and they are closer to individual than to mass 
communication. Even though the actual content of such services will sometimes be the 
same - a film, a news bulletin, a documentary - these different characteristics have to be 
taken into account when designing policy. This Green Paper therefore describes the 
evolution of audiovisual and information services, analyzes current legislation and policies 
at national, European and international level and the implications of the development of 
new services for these policies as far as is relevant for the two issues under study. The 
kinds of policy options examined are various and comprehensive, ranging from regulation 
and self-regulation through awareness and educational measures to the development of 
parental control systems. 
The purpose of this Commission Green Paper is to stimulate debate on a medium- to 
long-term basis. It is being presented at the same time as the Commission 
Communication on " Illegal and harmful Content on Internet". The two documents are 
fully complementary both as regards timing and scope. The Communication puts forward 
short-term measures required to deal with specific Internet related issues that go beyond 
the field of protection of minors and human dignity. The Green Paper, besides its longer 
term and consultative nature, covers the specific subject matter of protection of minors 
and human dignity in relation to new audiovisual and information services in general. 
Both respond to requests from the European Parliament and Council for an in-depth 
examination of European public policy issues related to the development of new services. 
In this respect the Commission would like to underline that a number of policy initiatives 
have already been launched, or are under examination, that deal either specifically, or 
incidentally with related public interest issues. For example, the Commission 
Communication on "Services of General Interest in Europe" contains a section on 
broadcasting in which it is pointed out that general interest considerations in this field 
basically concern the content of broadcasts and are linked to moral and democratic values, 
such as pluralism, information ethics and protection of the individual. Intellectual 
property is covered in the Green Paper on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights in the 
Information Society. The Commercial Communications Green Paper covers inter alia 
public interest issues in relation to advertising and sponsorship. A Directive has been 
adopted on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data. 
The "Television without frontiers" Directive, which is in the process of being revised, 
provides coordinated Community rules in a number of fields, including the protection of 
minors. The proposed Directive on "Regulatory Transparency in the Internal Market for 
Information Society Services" will facilitate Community coordination of future regulatory 
activity and the pursuit of public interest objectives that are worthy of protection. 
Finally, yet other issues flowing from the development of new audiovisual and 
information services - such as those related to cultural and linguistic diversity - have 
already been the subject of several recent policy initiatives (such as the MEDIA II, INFO 
2000 and Multilingual Information Systems programmes). The Commission will monitor 
the achievements of these initiatives in the light of their objectives and will come forward 
in due course with an up-dated assessment of the situation and of any need for further 
policy initiatives. 
SUMMARY 
The fight against the dissemination of content offensive to human dignity and the 
protection of minors against exposure to content that is harmful to their development are 
of fundamental importance in enabling new audiovisual and information services to 
develop in a climate of trust and confidence. If effective measures to protect the public 
interest in these fields are not rapidly identified and implemented we run the risk of these 
new services not reaching their full economic, social and cultural potential. 
Chapter I of this Green Paper identifies those aspects of the development of new 
audiovisual and information services that are relevant for the protection of minors and of 
human dignity and analyzes the categories of content that may give rise to problems. It 
underlines the need not to confuse problems that are different in nature, such as child 
pornography, which is illegal and subject to penal sanctions, and children accessing 
pornographic content for adults, which while being harmful for their development may not 
be illegal for adults. Solutions have to be designed to take account of the type of content 
in question. 
They also have to be adapted as a consequence of the evolution of the service 
environment. New television services, such as pay-per-view, provide greater individual 
choice. They are evolving away from the mass media model, where the viewer's choice 
is between watching a programme or not, towards a model that is closer to publishing 
i.e. where the viewer selects his or her programme from a wider choice. On-line services 
take this evolution further towards the individual communication model. In geographical 
terms distribution networks are less national and increasingly global in nature, Internet 
being a world-wide network of networks. Moreover, new types of content are emerging. 
A traditional television programme that is watched from beginning to end is linear in 
nature whereas interactivity allows one to navigate through alternative scenarios. Hybrid 
forms of content are coming into existence, for example combining games, advertising and 
information in new ways. 
The development of new services requires a flexible framework, notably in regulatory 
terms. A functional analysis of the characteristics of each new type of service is required 
in order to identify new solutions. Any new risks inherent to the nature of new services 
have to be carefully evaluated. Concerns about the protection of minors and of human 
dignity in relation to new emerging audiovisual and information services justify vigilance 
on the part of public authorities and citizens alike. However, the problem should not be 
overstated - the difficulty often resides more in the characteristics of new services as 
compared to traditional media than in their content. 
Chapter H provides an analysis of existing legal and constitutional arrangements at 
European and national level. It points out that national arrangements in Europe are all set 
against the background of the fundamental rights enshrined in the European Convention 
of Human Rights (ECHR) which are incorporated as general principles of Community 
law by Article F.2 of the Treaty on European Union. In particular, Article 10 ECHR 
guarantees the right to freedom of expression. It also provides that the exercise of this 
right may be subject to certain limitations for specified reasons, including the protection 
of health or morals and the prevention of crime. Accordingly, freedom of expression is 
nowhere absolute in the European Union and is subject to restrictions. The case law of 
the European Court of Human Rights has developed the principle of proportionality the 
crucial test of conformity of any restrictive measures with the fundamental principles laid 
down in the ECHR. Europe therefore has a basis for a common approach - the principle 
of freedom of expression and the test of proportionality. Beyond this common basis the 
actual regimes in the Member States vary greatly and reflect differences in cultural and 
moral standards. 
In general terms, the new services can create specific new problems with regard to the 
enforcement of legal provisions. An example is the increased difficulty of determining 
liability where there are several different operators involved in the communications chain 
(network provider, access provider, service provider, content provider). Such difficulties 
are more acute when the different elements of the chain are in different countries. 
This Chapter then goes on to examine the problems related to the protection of minors 
against harmful, but not necessarily illegal, content such as adult erotica. In some Member 
States, the principle of protection of minors is incorporated into general provisions, 
whatever the media involved, which forbid the supply to minors of material likely to harm 
their development (but which may be legally accessed by adults). Other Member States 
have provisions that are media specific. In all cases, the implementation of measures to 
protect minors requires the identification of ways of ensuring that minors do not access 
harmful material while allowing adults access. Recent technological developments can 
provide new solutions through greater, parental control, both in the television (v-chip) and 
on-line (PICS) environments. In both cases, content rating is a key part of the system. 
The new technical possibilities are more limited in the television than in the on-line 
environment, but both have the advantage of offering 'bottom-up" rather than 'top down" 
solutions that obviate the need for prior censorship and increase the potential effectiveness 
of self-regulation. 
Chapter in analyzes the situation at the level of the European Union both with regard to 
Community law and to cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs. The freedom 
to provide services is one of the four basic freedoms guaranteed by the Treaty. 
Restrictions are possible for overriding reasons of public interest, such as the protection 
of minors and of human dignity, but are subject notably to the proportionality test. 
In the fight against illegal content, cooperation between the Member States in the field of 
justice and home affairs is identified as having a fundamental role to play given the 
international character of the new services. Through such cooperation the Member States 
will be able to more effectively counter illegal use and content. Moreover, internal 
coherence will put them in a better position to work towards world-wide solutions. 
Various options for improving cooperation between national administrations and with the 
Commission in both the Community and justice and home affairs frameworks are explored 
(systematic exchange of information, joint analysis of national legislative provisions, 
establishment of a common framework for self-regulation, recommendations for 
cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs, common orientations for international 
cooperation). The potential for encouraging cooperation between the relevant industry 
sectors is also evaluated (codes of conduct, common standards for rating systems, 
promotion of PICS). Possible user awareness and media education measures are also put 
forward for debate. 
Building on the Commission's first policy options presented in the Communication on 
Illegal and Harmful Content on the Internet, Chapters H and ZZZboth identify a series of 
questions for further debate on issues the Commission considers as key for defining future 
policy actions. They are, in order: 
Question 1: 
Taking account of what is technically feasible and economically reasonable, what should 
be the liability of different operators in the content communication chain, from the content 
creator to the final user ? What types of liability -penal, civil, editorial - should come into 
play and under what conditions should liability be limited ? 
Question 2: 
How should the test of proportionality of any restrictive measures be applied ? Inter alia 
should any arbitration or conciliation mechanisms at European Union level be envisaged? 
If so, what sort of mechanisms? 
Question 3: 
How do we determine the right balance between protection of privacy (including allowing 
users to maintain anonymity on the networks) and the need to enforce liability for illegal 
behaviour? 
Question 4: 
Should one give priority to a regulatory or a self-regulatory approach (possibly backed up 
by legislation in the latter case) as regards pcoxntal control systems? What measures 
would be required, inter alia at European Union level? 
Question 5: 
In what cases should systematic supply of parental control systems be envisaged 
(according to service type or other criteria)? Should any obligatory regime be envisaged? 
If so, in what form and to which operators should it apply? What ewe the essential 
functions that such systems should provide? 
Question 6: 
How can decentralisation of content rating be implemented, catering for the need to 
respect individual, local caid national sensitivities, where audiovisual and information 
services are transnational? 
Question 7: 
What elements of standardisation would allow content ratings to be developed in a 
coherent way in Europe, in particulca' in the case of digital se\-vices (standardisation of 
types of information to be supplied, of encoding and decoding of such information, etc.)? 
Question 8: 
In what ways should administrative cooperation be implemented in the European Union? 
How and in what institutional framework should it be formalised? 
Question 9: 
What should the priorities be at European level and at international level? In particular, 
should one give priority to developing solutions at European Union level and then 
promoting them at international level or should this be done in parallel? What are the 
most appropriate international fora for international cooperation (G7, OECD, ITU, WTO, 
UN or bilateral relations)? How should this international cooperation be formalised? 
CHAPTER I THE PROTECTION OF MINORS AND HUMAN DIGNITY: 
CONTEXT AND ISSUES 
This chapter will identify the main problems arising from material in audiovisual and 
information services which are of relevance to the protection of minors and human 
dignity. 
!• The protection of minors and human dignity 
Whatever the weight given to freedom of expression, the protection of minors and human 
dignity has always been a fundamental concern of media regulation. The appearance of 
new media in no way alters the need for that protection. 
The arrangements made to protect minors and human dignity may vary from country to 
country and from time to time. But it is important to distinguish two types of problem 
relating to material: 
Firstly, access to certain types of material may be banned for everyone, regardless 
of the age of the potential audience or the medium used. Here it is possible, 
irrespective of differences in national legislation, to identify a general category of 
material that violates human dignity, primarily consisting of child pornography, 
extreme gratuitous violence and incitement to racial or other hatred, discrimination, 
and violence. 
Secondly, access to certain material that might affect the physical and mental 
development of minors is allowed only for adults. These measures should not be 
confused with other objectives of general interest, such as consumer protection, 
which might also help to protect minors (notably in terms of advertising, where 
exploitation of their credulity is to be prevented).1 The aim is therefore limited to 
preventing minors from encountering, by accident or otherwise, material that might 
affect their physical and/or mental development. 
The issues are sometimes confused for one reason or another, but it is essential to 
maintain the distinction between these different questions: they are different objectives 
which raise different problems and call for different solutions. Clearly, the measures 
required to enforce a total ban are different from those needed to restrict access by minors 
or to prevent chance access by adults. 
For example, in the context of Community law relating to broadcasting (Directive 89/552/EEC), 
the two objectives are clearly distinguished: 
rules for the protection of minors apply to all programmes, including advertising, an 
advertisement, like any other type of programme, may not contain material that is likely 
to seriously impair the development of minors (Article 22); 
rules for the protection of consumers applicable to advertisements specifically outlaw all 
exploitation of minors' credulity (Article 16). 
2. The changing context 
The emergence of new audiovisual and information services radically changes the context 
of protection for minors and human dignity (see Annex II). 
2.1 Television: from mass media to editorial model 
Digital broadcasting is likely to give a spectacular boost to the number and range of 
services: each digital cluster comprises or will comprise several dozen services, such as 
pay-per-view (PPV) and near video on demand (NVOD). Video on demand (VOD) and 
a whole range of new transactional services (from films on demand via interactive games 
to home banking) will gradually be introduced, although it is still too early to say exactly 
how this will happen or what form it will take (infrastructure, means of communication, 
type of content, etc.). 
User's televistoci and 
Set Top Box/PC 
• !•» in ». ii _ 11«.I, i «i a. } Y Programme!nSkct*' 
:-"• .Advertisers'^' -Jj 
This trend marks the transition in the world of television from a "mass media" approach 
to one which increasingly resembles the editorial model: 
shortage of frequencies is no longer an obstacle to the proliferation of services; 
services diversify and their impact is related to the total number of services 
available; 
the viewer has a wide range of choice among clearly identifiable services and 
types of programme. 
2.2 On-line services: from the editorial model to a new model of communication 
The development of "proprietary" on-line services, such as ComnuServe or America on 
Line (AOL), and above all the exponential growth of the Internet are seen as the 
forerunners of a mass market for on-line services. 
7*. ^ 
Contracted V* party 
content providers 
^""ïï 
fe*gjfflfit^tffi|} 
flnfprtrStton^ctvioS» 
Interactive services, 
content from other users, 
minigcd by O.S. Provider. 
On-line services are electronic communications systems which offer paid-up subscribers 
a range of services (electronic mail, information services, games and discussion groups 
or chat lines) accessible via the telephone network using a modem and a computer. In 
addition to the long-standing Bulletin Board Services (BBS), proprietary commercial 
services are expanding rapidly in the United States and making their appearance on certain 
European markets. The closed architecture of these networks ensures a level of security 
for transactions which has enabled commercial services to take off. 
The basic logic of on-line services clearly follows the editorial model: material is edited 
and made accessible to the public on individual demand. But a new model of interactive 
communication is emerging via certain resources of on-line services and the Internet in 
particular:2 each user becomes a potential supplier of material. This unique model defies 
any simple analogy with existing media and traditional forms of telecommunication. It has 
to be considered on its own terms. 
l.A.P.-run servers 
providing value-
added services 
• = Content <: P A network of 
networks connecting 
together a vaste 
number of computers 
worldwide y 
See Communication on Harmful and Illegal Content on the Internet. 
2.3 From national services to worldwide networks 
The appearance of special-interest services and pay channels has increased the 
cross-border circulation of television broadcasts, even if these services mainly target a 
single language area. The growth of digital television, by freeing the services from the 
traditional constraint of shortage of frequencies, will make it possible to develop highly 
specialized services, some of which will not be economically viable on a national market 
alone. These services will have to exploit niche markets on a transnational level in order 
to attract a large enough audience. 
Given the state of the technology, it is hard to picture VOD systems on an international 
basis. In the longer term, however, the development of VOD systems might come to 
follow on-line services. 
On-line services already have an international dimension via the major proprietary 
networks such as AOL and CompuServe. Each time this type of service becomes 
established in a new country, the entire network expands and all subscribers are able to 
communicate with one another and access the same material. 
The Internet is already a global network, potentially accessible in almost every country 
in the world. Moreover, the specific structure of the Internet makes it virtually impossible 
to isolate a particular geographical area. 
This shift from national services to worldwide networks presents a major challenge to the 
protection of minors and human dignity. It calls for careful consideration of the means to 
be deployed and the appropriate level of action to ensure that European principles relating 
to the protection of minors and human dignity are taken into account. 
2.4 The emergence of new types of material 
The linear model intrinsic to televised material (each programme is viewed from 
beginning to end) is giving way to a more complex architecture within which navigation 
between items is freer and the user can interact with the material (e.g. the new interactive 
media such as CD-ROM, CD-I and DVD). 
Clearly identified material (documentary, news, advertising, films, etc.) are merging into 
new hybrid forms of material that are difficult to label: the same item may combine 
advertising, news and a game element without it being possible to isolate the different 
components. 
And in the digital world, material can increasingly be manipulated it can be distributed 
and modified easily on a wide variety of media and services. Computer-generated images 
can offer a virtual world and insert subliminal material, which is a source of new 
ambiguities in relations with reality. 
These trends raise a seris of questions. How to check the accuracy of the information 
(false messages substituted for the original, false firms offering false services or goods)? 
How to defend the various rights that go with the name, the image and the reputation of 
a person or firm? What will be the long-term societal impact of hybrid material combining 
the real and the virtual worlds? These questions reflect new long-term risks that are more 
difficult to assess, especially in relation to the physical and mental development of minors. 
They will have to be identified and analyzed carefully. 
2.5 The incubation period: new risks and opportunities 
This new environment has by no means stabilized yet. Now, however, the common 
language of digital technology makes it possible to envisage various forms of convergence 
at the level of terminals (television, computer or others), infrastructures (hertzian, 
telecommunications, cable or satellite networks) or the services themselves. 
Throughout this long incubation period, these new services will only be able to develop 
in & flexible environment. - particularly as regards regulatory measures - which can easily 
adapt to the rapid changes in the industry. The various convergence scenarios and the 
numerous opportunities created by interactivity make it more difficult automatically to 
apply traditional distinctions between types of service (television/computer, private 
communications/public communications, point-to-point/point to multi-point) and to 
assimilate the new services to the existing media. We now have to examine carefully the 
different functions offered by each new service in order to identify its relevant features. 
Against this background of rapid change, we must assess the new risks which are 
emerging for the protection of minors and human dignity. We must also weigh up the 
many possibilities for monitoring the material offered by the audiovisual and information 
new services. 
3. The extent of the problem bv tvne of services 
The nature and scope of the problems involved in the protection of minors and human 
dignity vary according to the type of service. 
In some countries erotic programmes are broadcast late at night on the hertzian television 
channels, and pornographic material is shown on pay channels. Encrypted channels 
devoted exclusively to pornography are still a relatively minor phenomenon in Europe. 
On the other hand, the question of violence on television, which is much more difficult 
to regulate, is the subject of debate in many countries. It is also likely that PPV, NVOD 
and VOD services will offer some erotic and/or pornographic material and will be less 
affected by the debate about violence, particularly if users are correctly informed about 
the exact nature of the programmes on offer. 
On-line services offer a series of commercial sites aimed at adults containing material 
such as erotic or pornographic photographs available at a price. These "published" sites 
are clearly identifiable. Despite the closed nature of the proprietary networks it is also 
possible to find all the other types of material in interactive applications (discussion 
groups) or via electronic mail. 
As can be seen from the Communication on Harmful and Illegal Content on the Internet, 
the Internet undoubtedly carries all of the controversial types of material (ranging from 
child pornography to incitement to racial hatred, via all kinds of violent or other abusive 
material). The controversial sites are often identifiable and the fact that deliberate steps 
10 
have to be taken to obtain the information (via addresses or search tools) means that it is 
virtually impossible to come across unwanted material "by accident". 
The importance of questions relating to the protection of minors and human dignity in the 
audiovisual and information services is hardly surprising. Genuine problems are emerging 
which more than justify the attention of the public authorities and ordinary citizens. 
However, the novelty lies more in modes of communication which defy comparison with 
existing media than in the material itself. It is unlikely that the new services carry more 
contentious material than the traditional media have to date. But the new services make 
this material more visible and relatively more accessible. An understanding of the 
operation of each service would therefore seem to be essential to determining the 
appropriate responses. 
11 
CHAPTER H RULES AND ENFORCEMENT MEASURES APPLICABLE TO 
PROTECTION OF MINORS AND HUMAN DIGNITY 
1. Common general principles 
Before considering what rules and enforcement measures applicable to protection of 
minors and human dignity, it must be emphasized that they are all subject to two 
fundamental principles that are inherent in any democratic society - freedom of expression 
and respect for privacy (see Annex III). 
1.1 The principle of freedom of expression 
Freedom of expression is secured by a range of international Conventions, of which the 
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 
("the Convention") is both the most sophisticated and a vital reference for the European 
Union. All the Member States are parties to the Convention and, with the exception of the 
United Kingdom, have established freedom of expression as a principle of constitutional 
status in the legal systems. 
Although the Convention is not strictly binding on the European Community, its content 
has been incorporated into its legal order by Article F(2) of the Treaty on European Union 
and by cases decided by the Court of Justice of the European Communities relating to the 
general principles of Community law. 
But the principle is never an absolute one. Freedom of expression may be restricted by 
the State, though the possible restrictions are circumscribed by a very precise set of 
criteria: to be considered necessary in a democratic society, the measure must meet a real 
social need and be effective without being disproportionate in the restrictions it imposes. 
The assessment will require the proportionality test to be applied. 
1.2 The principle of respect for privacy 
The principle of respect for privacy has the same status as the principle of freedom of 
expression. It is secured by Article 8 of the Convention, and restrictions are allowed on 
much the same terms as in the case of freedom of expression. 
Restrictions on the principle would are possible (notably to identify and punish private 
communications for criminal purposes), though once again the proportionality test must 
be passed. 
There is a European common core, constituted both by the Convention and its uniform 
interpretation by the European Court of Human Rights and the incorporation of general 
principles of law in the Community legal order.. Yet the common core is by no means the 
same thing as a set of common rules. Be that as it may, however, the principles are still 
most significant: in the absence of common rules, Europe at least has a common approach 
to assessing rules that limit the freedom of expression or the right to privacy. That 
method - the proportionality test - must be taken as a powerful factor for convergence 
between the Member States as regards the legal treatment (or self-regulation) of questions 
12 
relating to the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information 
services. 
2. The rules and resources deployed in the national context 
It is clear from an analysis of national regulations and other measures relating to the 
protection of minors and human dignity just how wide the gaps separating the Member 
States' cultural and legal traditions are (see Annex III). But is possible to identify broad 
patterns and specific problems. 
2.1 Protection of human dignity 
The first type of restriction imposed by the provisions of all countries aims to prohibit 
outright certain kinds of material considered as intolerable both for the individual and for 
the community at large and as going to the very roots of society and, in particular, human 
dignity. 
All the Member States have outright prohibitions on certain kinds of material. There are 
generally heavy fines and prison terms, in the general criminal law or in specific 
enactments, to enforce the prohibition on producing, distributing, importing and 
advertising such material. By their general character, these prohibitions apply to all media 
and services, including those that emerged after the time of the enactment. The addressee's 
and user's ages are immaterial. 
Prohibitions on general categories of material detrimental to human dignity, such as 
material that is obscene, contrary to sound morals or indecent, exist in most Member 
States. Sometimes the terms are defined by the legislation; elsewhere, their meaning falls 
to be determined by the courts. And the same concept may be used to underpin both a 
blanket prohibition and a more flexible situation in which material is restricted depending 
on the potential audience or on the medium used. 
Given all these factors, it would appear possible to identify certain types of material which 
are generally prohibited in the Union. 
The material to which the most unanimous ban applies in the Union is child pornography 
(in the form of photos, photo-simulations and animated material). The World Conference 
on the Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Stockholm recently drew attention to the 
problem of distribution of such material via communications networks and called firmly 
for possession to be made into an offence. 
General concepts (obscenity, sound morals) also encompass violent pornography 
(including material involving non-consenting adults) and zoophilia as being widely 
prohibited. 
A further category of material subject to outright prohibition in a significant number of 
countries is incitement to racial hatred or violence (or both). The terms used and the 
degree of precision of national legislation vary widely, but there is evidence of a common 
objective, which is to combat all kinds of material that directly or indirectly incite to 
13 
hatred, discrimination or violence against persons or groups of persons on grounds of the 
race, nationality, skin colour, sex or religion. 
The differences between national rules and their lack of transparency makes it moire 
difficult to apply existing national rules to international services and networks and involve 
the industries in question at European level. Moreover, they can generate disproportionate 
barriers to the free movement of services in the Community and make it harder to defend 
shared values in international fora. 
In view of this, the Commission acknowledges the fundamental importance of cooperation 
between the Member States in the field of justice and home affairs (see Chapter III, point 
2). Common definitions of what ought to treated as unlawful are needed, and criminal, 
judicial and police cooperation between the Member States needs stepping up. 
Once prohibited material has been defined, the Member States must enforce the 
prohibitions, by identifying and punishing offenders. New problems arise with the 
implementation of prohibitions when the new audiovisual and information services are 
involved: where services are centralized, it is possible to identify an operator so that the 
rules can be discussed and responsibility for the application allocated, but responsibilities 
are difficult to allocate in the case of decentralized services as there are so many stages 
involved -from initial loading to access by the end-user (sec Communication on Illegal 
and harmful Content on the Internet). 
The responsibility of a user loading illicit material on to the network and the release from 
responsibility of the operators who merely carry it seem clearly accepted. But the question 
of the responsibility of intermediate stages (notably where material is stored, even 
temporarily, in readable format) is far from settled. The point is to ascertain what is 
technically feasible and economically viable and to observe a balance between protection 
of freedom of expression and privacy, on the one hand, and the protection minors and 
human dignity on the other. 
And because communications networks are now global, the scope for application of 
national legislation is restricted. Where decentralized services on international networks 
are concerned, controversial material can rapidly be relayed to other servers to circumvent 
restrictions. Apart from the risk of large-scale derealization of servers towards the less 
strict countries, this mobility also raises the problem of updating black lists of 
questionable sites or material. It may be that blocking a site that carries illicit material will 
turn out to be disproportionate if all the services and material accommodated on the same 
server are blocked as a result. 
A number of practical cases have generated a wide debate pending the emergence of a 
coherent body of case law. Some Member States are devising regulatory solutions, but the 
initial response to the practical difficulties has been in the form of self-regulation by the 
operators (see Communication on Illegal and Harmful Content on the Internet). 
These isolated national solutions come up against visible limits, and the development of 
a coherent approach at European Union level would facilitate application of national law 
while avoiding disproportionate obstacles to the transfrontier development of services in 
the internal market. 
14 
Building on the initial guidelines set out in the Communication Illegal and harmfull 
Content on the Internet, the approach could be focused on the following questions: 
1 Bearing in mind what is technically feasible and economically reasonable, 
what responsibilities should be attributed to the various people involved in 
communicating the material -from the author to the final user (what types 
of responsibility - criminal, general legal, editorial - and under what 
circumstances should they be exonerated from their responsibilities. 
2 What measures are needed to promote transparency in the provision of 
services, particularly in framework of contractual relations between service 
providers and material providers? 
3 How can the right balance be achieved between the protection of privacy 
(including allowing users to operate anonymously on networks) and the need 
to attribute blame for illegal behaviour? 
2.2 The protection of minors 
In some Member States, the general principle of the protection of minors takes the form 
of provisions of criminal law banning the supply to minors of material that may be 
harmful to their development but which is lawfully available to adults. These provisions 
are of general application: they apply regardless of the manner in which the material in 
question is supplied to the minor. In Member States which do not have general rules of 
this type, the same sort of protection is afforded by rules applying specifically to the 
individual media. 
Any system for protecting minors needs a reasonable way of ensuring that minors do not 
normally have access to material which could damage their physical or mental 
development, while at the same time allowing adults access to such material. 
2.2.1 Controlling access by minors to questionable material 
Rules governing access by minors to certain types of material depend very much on the 
type of service. Despite certain similarities between the world of broadcasting and that of 
on-line services, we shall study these two areas separately to simplify the layout (see 
Annex IV). 
a) Broadcast services 
With conventional television, the time of transmission of programmes can be scheduled 
in such a way as to protect minors: potentially harmful programmes may be transmitted 
only late in the evening, when children are presumed not to be watching. Technically, this 
"watershed" system can be applied to any television service, but it will not always 
necessarily correspond to the logic of tomorrow's television. Some private and public 
broadcasters have also developed, usually on a voluntary basis, a system of symbols to 
15 
inform viewers of the nature of the programmes broadcast. Various logos are used to 
classify programmes potentially harmful to minors. 
The new broadcasting services offer new solutions for the protection of minors. The 
conditional access inherent in all pay-as-you-view services offers a wide range of 
possibilities for controlling access by minors: 
firstly, subscription is in itself a means for parents to check that the service they 
choose does not contain material liable to upset their children; 
secondly, the privileged relationship between the subscriber and the pay-per-view 
service has often led the services involved to develop a consumer information 
policy on the programmes offered which includes advice for parents; 
finally, a variety of technical features are sometimes offered to facilitate parental 
control; this could be a simple locking system allowing parents to prevent access 
to programmes, for example in their absence, or a system for giving access to 
programmes (which are normally scrambled) only by means of a personal 
identification number (PIN), special card or credit card. In the case of adult 
services, this type of system would enable parents to ensure that they alone have 
access to programmes. 
The emergence of technical methods of parental control has led to an extensive debate, 
particularly on whether or not they should be used for non-encoded television. Based on 
the Canadian example and the interest that it generated in the United States, the possibility 
of linking a systematic classification of content to a parental control mechanism attracted 
special interest in the European Parliament and the Council in the course of the review 
of the Television Without Frontiers Directive.3 The question was also debated in several 
Member States. The various debates on this system have quickly highlighted not only the 
problems of the implementation of the system (notably as regards classification of 
material) but also a more fundamental problem that has not yet been settled 
The industries concerned have also recognized the importance of the protection of minors 
and are developing practical solutions. Electronic guides for navigating through the wide 
range of television programmes will soon be available on the market and will offer 
various possibilities in terms of parental control. Originally designed to assist and 
automate the programming of video recorders in a multi-channel environment, these 
electronic guides will be able to decipher a wide range of information about programmes, 
including whether they contain material that could pose a problem for minors. 
In the field of digital television, the use of a decoder and the need for electronic guides 
to cope with the large number of programmes available provide two opportunities for 
developing devices for providing the viewer with information and controlling content. In 
the initial stages, pressure on the price of digital decoders has not so far made it possible 
to incorporate this dimension. As the market develops, however, and if it seems to meet 
the consumers' needs, this type of function could be introduced at a reasonable cost. 
b) On-line services 
Directive 89/552. 
16 
Unlike broadcast services, on-line services do not lend themselves to a segregation of 
material based on the time of broadcast. All available material can be consulted at any 
time. Moreover, material is accessed on an individual basis (choice of a specific item) at 
a time selected by the user. Access to sensitive material will therefore rarely be accidental. 
In this specific context, the question of the protection of minors takes the following form: 
how can adults be offered a maximum freedom of expression while ensuring that minors 
are not exposed to material which is likely to harm their physical, mental or moral 
development. Possible ways of protecting minors will vary according to the degree of 
openness of the networks. 
* Closed networks 
Video-on-demand systems, at their current stage of development, have a number of 
features which can be used to protect minors. 
Operators are clearly identifiable and relatively few in number. When they do not offer 
material themselves they have contractual links with information providers. This structure 
makes it possible to install a transparent system of responsibility for the material shown 
While it is clearly out of all proportion to ban all material which could be harmful to 
minors from such services, it is perfectly reasonable, in cooperation with the operators 
concerned, to work out ways of protecting minors effectively: 
identification or classification of controversial material by means of electronic 
programme guides (for example, identification of a space reserved for adult 
entertainment); 
proof of age on payment for or on access to the programme (using a bank card or 
a personal identification number); 
possibility of opting out of certain categories of programmes at the user's request 
(the user would then only have access to part of the material available); 
parental control devices preventing access to certain categories of programme. 
Similarly, in proprietary on-line services, the editorial content (material provided by the 
service itself or provided on the basis of a contract between the service and the 
information providers) is similar in some ways and therefore offers similar solutions. The 
size of the network plays an important role here, however: it could be difficult, on a 
worldwide network, to find solutions which would be acceptable in all the countries 
covered by the service. 
* Open networks 
The protection of minors becomes more difficult on open networks where every user is 
a potential information provider. On the proprietary networks or on the Internet, thousands 
of items are created, consulted and exchanged via facilities permitting varying degrees of 
interactivity between users which require the intervention of various intermediaries 
between the information provider and the users accessing it. 
Given the threat of joint liability, notably criminal liability, for distribution of material 
harmful to minors, the industry has spontaneously developed a series of mechanisms for 
the protection of minors. These mechanisms can be broken down according to the level 
at which they operate: the level of information providers, access providers or the user. 
17 
Only systems developed by the user offer a truly comprehensive solution enabling parents 
to enjoy full access to Internet (or a proprietary on-line service) while controlling or 
restricting access by minors. They are all based on software the security of which depends 
substantially on the level of sophistication of the product. 
In addition to the prior identification of users, which is common to all systems, various 
other functionalities are proposed: 
restrictions on computer use enable parents to limit access by children to times 
when they are present; 
memory storage of navigation on the networks (sites accessed, messages 
exchanged, etc.) enables parents to monitor the use their children actually make 
of services; 
systematic filtering of material allows controversial material to be intercepted 
automatically. The first generation of systems of this type operates mainly on the 
basis of key words and the identification of certain types of material (images). 
This limits the effectiveness of the protection (a few key words may not be 
sufficient to determine the scope of material which could shock minors) while 
imposing considerable limits on access to harmless material; 
blocking sites on a selective basis on the basis of a labelling system allowing 
material to be filtered by suitable software. 
All services may be adapted to incorporate control devices, notably parental control. 
However, such systems are not yet available on all services under development and 
existing systems are not as secure as they might be. Exploration of the potential in this 
field offered by all digital services should be a priority. In view of the potentially 
transnational nature of all of these services, the European Union is concerned by all 
aspects of such developments. 
Should the approach taken in the area of parental control devices be based 
on legislation or on self-regulation (possibly supervised)? What rules should 
be introduced, particularly at Union level? 
In what cases (types of service or other criteria) should parental control 
devices be incorporated in a service automatically ? Should this be 
compulsory? If so, what form should it take and which operators would be 
affected? In these different cases, what are the essential functions which the 
device should perform? 
2.2.2 Labelling of material 
At first glance, the identification of material which could be harmful to minors presents 
a basic problem: firstly, a consensus does not necessarily exist, even in medical circles, 
as to what is likely to affect the moral or physical development of minors; secondly, the 
term "minors" does not cover a uniform group and it is doubtful whether children of four 
have the same problems as adolescents of 15. 
These two problems lead in practice to a wide variety of national classifications 
introduced for certain media (especially films) which are often incompatible. In the 
services context, this diversity has repercussions for the circulation of the material 
concerned. 
To combine the use of the new means of controlling content with the free movement of 
services assumes a trend away from centralized classification systems towards 
decentralized labelling systems which take better account of differences in attitudes. The 
urgency of this development varies according to the nature of the services. 
a) Broadcasting services 
In the absence of parental control facilities, broadcasters have to base their scheduling on 
a centralized classification operated by the broadcaster in accordance with more or less 
detailed rules and recommendations. 
In the context of the development of electronic programme guides and navigation systems, 
ways can be found that will respect national sensitivities in transnational services: 
information on the programmes offered can be differentiated according to the 
country served (for a given service available in countries A and B, different 
classifications might be used, e.g. A in country A and B in country B, for the 
same programme); 
the classification and labelling of programmes might be decentralized (the service 
sets up a classification and labelling structures in each country served). 
b) On-line services 
Video-on-demand and proprietary on-line services can also classify the material they offer 
themselves (or via contracts with other information providers). While it is not yet 
systematic on the proprietary services, user information on the potentially harmful nature 
of certain material for minors is becoming more common. 
The open structure of the Internet, on the other hand, as well as the user-friendly and 
highly interactive applications of the proprietary services, raise the question of the 
classification of material in radically different terms. The variety of ways of publishing 
material and the fact that each user is a potential publisher makes it necessary to filter the 
material that is available. Three different types of filter have been developed. 
Black list filtering aims to block access to sites identified as problematic in view 
of the material they distribute (nudity, violence, sex, etc.); black lists are difficult 
to update. 
White list filtering authorizes access only to pre-determined sites; access to 
material is heavily limited. 
Filtering based on neutral labelling gives users access to information on material 
loaded by suppliers or third parties on the basis of their own selection criteria. 
A combination of these various forms of classification enables the user to make up an 
operating environment that is generally safe as regards Internet access by minors. But only 
the generalized introduction of the neutral labelling filtering system would make it 
possible to regulate the question comprehensively. 
19 
As can be seen from the Communication on Illegal and harmful Content on the Internet, 
PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection) offers an open global standard to make this 
neutral labelling possible. For European Union purposes, PICS has the decisive advantage 
that it offers a very flexible framework for classifying and indexing material and enables 
the same material to be classified under different labels supplied by différent third parties 
and containing différent types of information, so that it can have regard to differing 
national, regional and local sensitivities. A large number of filtering systems already 
incorporate the PICS system (PICS compatible) but the real challenge is still to reach a 
critical mass of sites and labelled content. 
For all seivices operating according to the individual consumer demand principle, 
encouraging material suppliers and third parties to label the material they make available 
is a priority for the harmonious development of control of material in general and parental 
control in particular. 
6 How can the labelling of material be decentralized in the case of 
transnational services so as to reflects the diversity of national, local and 
personal sensitivities? 
7 What standardization efforts are needed to ensure the coherent development 
of material labelling at European level, particularly for digital services 
(standardization of the types of information supplied, coding and decoding 
of this or other information)? 
2.3 Media education 
The revolution which has taken place in the audiovisual and information services, from 
unencoded general-interest broadcasting to the new mode of communication offered by 
the Internet, implies a need to learn a whole new approach to the audiovisual media (see 
Annex IV). 
Parents and children must learn to use the new communication tools. They need to be 
warned of the new risks involved and also of the protection facilities available. 
Information, awareness-raising and education are the keys to effective protection of minors 
and to establishing the climate of confidence on which the development of the new 
services depends. 
In this context, the initiative on Learning in the Information Society4 should help spread 
new approaches to familiarizing young people with these questions. 
COM(96)471 final, 25.1.1996. 
20 
CHAPTER ffl THE EUROPEAN UNION CONTEXT 
INSTRUMENTS AND PRIORITIES 
Although being in principle a matter for the Member States, the question of the protection 
of minors and human dignity in the electronic services cannot fail to have ramifications 
at European Union level, and the Community institutions have expressed the importance 
they attach to the protection of these general interests on several occasions.5 
From the point of view of Community law and the instruments it provides in this area, 
there are two aspects which merit particular attention: 
firstly, the principle of free movement of services in the Community presupposes 
the removal of unjustified barriers and, in some cases, the harmonization of 
national legislation; 
secondly, the Union Treaty lays down a procedure for cooperation in the field of 
justice and home affairs which could be applied to certain aspects of the protection 
of minors and human dignity in the new electronic services. 
The Commission believes that in many areas, cooperation with national authorities and 
the relevant industries and international cooperation are the priority lines of European 
Union action. 
1. Principle of free movement of services 
Freedom to offer services is one of the four fundamental freedoms governing the 
establishment and operation of the single market. 
The development of new broadcast services (digital television, pay-per-view, near-video-
on-demand) is subject to the Television without Frontiers Directive, which lays down 
common rules for the protection of minors and human dignity and gives effect to the 
principle of freedom to provide services (see Annex III). Its principles are based on the 
general-interest non-encoded broadcasting model, and it will probably need to be tested 
on proportionality lines as its implementation will have to be modulated in the case of the 
new services. But neither the fundamental principle that the law of the sending country 
applies, nor the special procedure for control by the country of reception for the purposes 
of the protection of minors and human dignity, should not be called into question. 
The Commission, together with the representatives of the Member States, will review the 
operation of the relevant provisions of the Directive, particularly as they apply to new 
forms of broadcast services. 
The current amendments to the Directive will supply a suitable opportunity for 
cooperation with the Member States (Contact Committee) and the Commission would 
enjoy a dual remit: to pay special attention to this aspect in the periodic review of the 
operation of the Directive and, in liaison with the authorities of the Member States, to 
See the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council, the Representatives of the 
Member States and the Commission of 11 June 1986 against racism and xenophobia, which is 
certainly the most solemnly worded to date. 
21 
investigate the advantages and drawbacks of other means of allowing parents and teachers 
to control the programmes that minors can watch. 
While the free movement of broadcasting services in the Community is secured by the 
Television Without Frontiers Directive, the transfrontier movement of other audiovisual 
and information services is covered by the general rules of the internal market, and 
particularly the freedom to provide services. 
The Member States are entitled to take non-discriminatory measures where justified for 
overriding reasons of the public interest. Measures of this type would therefore be 
legitimate provided they were strictly proportional to the aim pursued and that there were 
no other less restrictive measures of equivalent effect available. What we find here, 
therefore, in the context of the freedom to offer services, is a proportionality test of the 
type highlighted in relation to freedom of expression. 
Whether regulation or self-regulation is the solution, the Commission must ensure that the 
measures adopted are not discriminatory and that their application is in proportion to the 
objective pursued.6 
In the light of this principle, this framework should be considered a goal to be attained 
progressively (in keeping with the pace of development of the services) and by the 
appropriate methods. The Commission is of the view that it is too early, at this stage of 
development of the new services, to make specific proposals, especially of a regulatory 
nature, at Community level. 
2. Cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs 
Introduced by virtue of the Treaty on European Union,7 cooperation in the field of justice 
and home affairs has a fundamental role to play as a channel for addressing various 
aspects of the protection of minors and human dignity in the new electronic services, more 
particularly the application of criminal penalties for certain types of content. 
As the definition of offences varies from one country to another, all reprehensible acts are 
not necessarily punishable in all Member States. As the audiovisual and information 
services are international in scope, the authors or suppliers of material may abuse the 
situation by supplying material in countries where it considered unlawful from others 
where it is lawful. Even where the legislation of the relevant country prohibits certain 
material and requires a prosecution to be brought, the author or supplier of the material 
may be outside the criminal law's jurisdiction and not amenable to pursuit by the 
enforcement authorities, confined within national territorial limits. 
If regulatory measures are opted for, the proposal for an instrument on transparency in the internal 
market for information society services (COM(96)392) will provide a fundamental means of 
securing balance in the Community between the protection of general interests such as the 
protection of minors and human dignity and the free circulation of electronic services. 
Title VI of the Treaty on European Union contains provisions on cooperation in the field of justice 
and home affairs. 
22 
Clearly, therefore, there is a need for closer cooperation between Member States to 
effectively combat illegal material and practices in the new technologies. In general terms 
criminal, judicial and police cooperation between Member States needs stepping up. 
Greater coherence in the approaches taken by the Member States would also ease 
cooperation with third parties. 
The Union Treaty provides the instruments for such cooperation in justice and home 
affairs. The political agreement between Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, meeting in 
Dublin on 26 and 27 September 1996, to reinforce police cooperation in Europol to 
combat paedophilia and trafficking in children and women and to begin work on 
minimum legislative standards in matters of child abuse, are a recent example; 
Other forms of cooperation could also be considered both on legal matters (cryptography 
on networks, common approach to remailing, international extradition agreements, etc.) 
and practical aspects (for example, training the police authorities to use computers and 
electronic networks and exchange of information on the treatment of criminal cases linked 
to the use of the new electronic services, etc.). 
3. Priority lines for cooperation in the European Union 
To facilitate the emergence of coherent solutions at Union level, and without prejudice to 
the short-term measures proposed by the Commission in its Communication on Illegal and 
harmful Content on the Internet, the Commission considers it important to highlight 
certain areas for cooperation. 
3.1 Administrative cooperation 
Cooperation between the relevant national authorities is a priority if a coherent Union 
framework is to be laid down for the protection of minors and human dignity in on-line 
services (from video-on-demand to the Internet). Cooperation should focus on the 
following points in particular: 
* The exchange of information on current developments (specific problems, case-law, 
self-regulation, draft legislation, etc.) as a way of developing Community expertise on 
these problems. 
* A comparative analysis of national legislation and its implementationXo encourage 
the Member States to introduce common minimum standards regarding illegal material. 
* The drawing-up of recommendations and guidelines for cooperation in the fields 
of justice and home affairs. Without prejudging the work programme for cooperation in 
justice and home affairs, these specific priorities for new services could be taken into 
account in other work, which will often have a broader scope (measures to combat racism 
and xenophobia, trafficking in women or sexual abuse of children for commercial 
purposes, etc.). 
* The definition of a common framework for self-regulation in Europe, assuming 
that self-regulation is accepted as appropriate. This framework will have to include: 
23 
the objectives to be pursued as regards the protection of minors and human 
dignity, which will constitute the basic conditions of self-regulation; 
principles concerning the representation of industry at European level and 
decision-making procedures', 
a timetable for the drawing-up of a code of conduct and specific protective 
measures by the relevant industries. 
* The drawing-up of recommendations and guidelines for international cooperation, 
the object of the exercise being to identify shared values and principles to be defended 
in international bodies, on the basis of work carried out at Union level. 
3.2 Cooperation with the industries 
The various industries concerned have a key role to play in developing and implementing 
solutions to the problem of protecting minors and human dignity. It is therefore vital that 
they be mobilized as far as possible and organized effectively at European level. The 
ability of these industries to speak with one voice through genuinely representative bodies 
will be crucial. 
The main tasks which industry should work on are: 
drawing up a code of conduct and concrete measures within a framework defined 
by the cooperation between national government departments; 
identifying areas where there may be a need for common standards on the 
labelling of material; 
promoting the PICS standard or equivalent systems with a view to reaching - as 
quickly as possible - a critical mass of labelled material and navigation systems 
and/or parental control devices which are mutually compatible. 
3.3 Cooperation on informing users and raising their awareness 
There are two medium and long-term objectives here: 
ensuring that users of the new electronic services (in particular parents and minors) 
are aware of the specific risks involved and that they use existing methods of 
protection effectively; 
encouraging associations and grass-roots organizations to become involved in the 
process of labelling material (labelling by third parties); 
encouraging consumer associations and individual consumers to become involved 
in market surveillance; 
encouraging parental awareness of their responsibility for monitoring heir 
children's activities. 
The measures to be implemented in this context should be examined in detail. At Union 
level the Commission proposes that work be carried out in stages, concentrating on the 
following priorities: 
a study of current initiatives (assessing, in particular, how effective they are) and 
the sharing of information on good practices; 
24 
cooperation with all parties involved (governments, the educational community, 
consumer groups, the relevant industries, etc); 
establishment of an action plan centred on the support of Community initiatives 
which provide real value-added; identification of common messages and 
transnational initiatives (information and awareness-raising campaigns, production 
of teaching materials) 
research into the establishment of a user-friendly information society. This will be 
among the priorities of the Fifth framework Research Programme. 
3.4 Promoting the access of minors to the new electronic services 
The Commission will study the possibility of taking this priority into account in existing 
Community programmes on education and on support for industries producing audiovisual 
material. It will also encourage mutual information and the sharing of good practices in 
the relevant networks at European level. On the basis of its work in this field, the 
Commission will send a communication to the Council and Parliament, together with any 
proposals that are appropriate. 
The importance and variety of the forms of cooperation to be used to develop suitable 
national, Community and international responses are such as to raise the following 
questions: 
How can administrative cooperation be applied at European Union level? 
Must it be formalized? If so, within what institutional framework? 
How can work be linked at European and international level? That is to say, 
should solutions be developed at European Union level before being 
promoted at international level or should both courses of action run 
parallel? Which are the most pertinent vehicles for international cooperation 
(G7, OECD, ITU, WTO? Or bilateral contacts? How can this international 
cooperation be formalized? 
CONCLUSION 
The decentralized services, and primarily the Internet, merit the main attention and 
urgency where the protection of minors and human dignity is concerned. It has become 
clear here that, faced with the limits to purely national solutions and the difficulty and of 
devising and applying worldwide solutions, the European Union has a fundamental role 
to play. But the potential for transnational development of the decentralized services is 
such that common or at least compatible solutions are worth seeking in the European 
Union. 
Looking beyond the initial short-term measures set out in the Communication on Illegal 
and harmful Content on the Internet, the aim of the guidelines proposed and the questions 
asked in this Green Paper is to help create the conditions for the establishment of a 
coherent framework for the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and 
25 
information services in the European Union. The Commission hopes to receive a large 
number of contributions along the following lines: 
comments on its analysis of the present situation and additional information on 
current developments (legislation, self-regulation, technical advances, etc.); 
comments on the relevance of the guidelines and proposals set out here; 
practical answers to the various questions raised. 
Contributions should be addressed no later than 28 February 1997 to: 
European Commission 
Directorate-General X 
Mr Paulger 
Unit X.D.3 
rue de la Loi 102, Room 5/23 
B-1049 Brussels 
e-mail: gregory-paulger@dglO.cec.be 
26 
ANNEXES 
3} 
ANNEX I 
PREPARATORY WORK 
Two main types of preparatory work were carried out for this document: 
Firstly, the Member States were asked to reply to a questionnaire on the protection of 
minors and human dignity in the context of the development of services in the information 
society.1 All of the Member States responded favourably to this consultation processus. 
The analysis of the replies, supplemented by a meeting of representatives of the Member 
States2 and additional contributions from several Member States, all confirm the need for 
a debate at European Union level. The problem is in fact being studied or debated in most 
of the Member States, and these questions are often high on the public agenda. Although 
national approaches may vary, a consensus is emerging on the need to take account of the 
Community and international dimensions. 
Secondly, with a view to the preparation of this Green Paper, the Commission 
commissioned a series of studies on the protection of minors and human dignity in the 
information society.3 These cover the regulatory, economic and teclinological aspects of 
the question in the 15 Member States, Canada, Japan and the United States. Frequent 
reference will be made in what follows to these studies, a summary of which may be 
obtained from the European Commission. 
In addition, numerous informal contacts with economic operators and other interested 
parties have enabled their views to be taken into account as well. 
1 Questionnaire sent to the Member States in October 1995. 
2 Representatives of the national competent authorities met in Brussels on 12 July 1996. 
These were carried out by Hydra Associates, London. 
28 
ANNEX H 
ELECTRONIC SERVICES 
l. Glossary 
* Digital broadcasting 
Digital broadcasting is a new form of broadcasting programmes, differing from the 
traditional, analog form. Images are converted into digitized data (using a digital technique 
now common to broadcasting, télécoms and data-processing). Compression of the resultant 
data (by special algorithms) greatly narrows the spectrum needed for their transmission. 
In practice, several clusters of digital television services have emerged or are in 
preparation in Europe. 
* Pay-per-view 
Pay-per-view (PPV) services offer viewers the possibility of selecting from the contents 
of a broadcasting schedule and paying only for what they actually view. These are 
broadcasting services in that distribution is triggered by a universally-available service 
(even though it may be accessible only to viewers possessing the requisite receiving 
equipment); the viewer's decision is technically confined to determining which portions 
of the encrypted programmes he will decode and then actually view. This is a point-to-
multipoint service. 
* Near video on demand (NVOD) 
The principle of NVOD is much the same as with PPV, but the consumer's selection is 
extended by the fact that the material is distributed in parallel at short intervals of time. 
* Video on demand (VOD) 
VOD offers consumers a whole range of transactional services from films on demand via 
tele-banking to tele-shopping. The consumer has the possibility of selecting the 
programmes of their choice from a catalogue of permanently-available programmes. Like 
all truly interactive services, this is actually a telecommunications service in that the 
distribution of the programme is triggered by the viewer's individual connection. This is 
a point-to-point service. 
* Videotext 
The Télétel network which was launched in France in 1984 is the most highly developed 
videotex system in the world. Over two-thirds of the French population have access to the 
network via a specific terminal (Minitel) and can access some 25 000 different services, 
many of them transactional. 
* 'Proprietary" on-line services 
29 
The market in proprietary on-line services is dominated by three North American 
operators: AOL, with 4.5 million subscribers worldwide in 1995, CompuServe (3.7 million 
subscribers) and Prodigy. CompuServe is the most well-established service in Europe, 
with 500 000 subscribers in 1995 and a target of 1 million in 1996. AOL has launched 
a service in Germany and the United Kingdom in partnership with Bertelsmann. Microsoft 
Network is also developing services aimed specifically at European markets. Finally, 
Planet Internet (controlled by KPN - a telecommunications operator in the Netherlands) 
is developing a European strategy. 
* Internet 
The Internet is more difficult to define. It is effectively a worldwide network of computers 
which can communicate with one another thanks to a series of common protocols. Created 
in the United States for military purposes, then taken up by the university and scientific 
community, it is only in the past five years that the Internet has become a worldwide 
network open to the general public. Estimates of the number of Internet users worldwide 
vary from 30 to 50 million, and growth everywhere is exponential. The Internet is 
undergoing a rapid evolution. Although still primarily used for data search and electronic 
mail, it could become the medium for numerous commercial services. 
The Internet is described in detaim in the Communication on Harmful and Illegal Content. 
2. The new audiovisual and information services and their environments 
Type of 
architecture 
Digital TV 
VOD system 
(closed 
architecture) 
Proprietary 
on-line 
services 
(closed 
architecture, 
highly 
interactive 
services Users 
Terminal: TV 
+ set-top box 
Terminal: TV 
+ set-top box 
Terminal: PC 
+ modem Intermediaries Infrastructure and 
networks 
Proprietary 
broad-band 
network 
Proprietary 
network Multimedia services 
and material 
Satellite, cable, 
hertzian 
Services and material 
put out under VOD 
system operator 
TEXT, FIXED IMAGE, 
VIDEO, SOUND 
Services and material 
put out under VOD 
system operator 
Material loaded by 
users (e-mail, BBS, 
chat-lines) 
TEXT, FIXED IMAGE, 
VIDEO, SOUND 
(sound and animated 
image in development) 
30 
Internet 
(open 
architecture) Terminal: PC 
+ modem Host servers, 
Access 
providers Services and material 
put out under VOD 
system operator 
Material loaded by 
users (home-page, 
WWW, e-mail, BBS, 
chat-lines) 
TEXT, FIXED IMAGE, 
VIDEO, SOUND 
(sound and animated 
image in development) 
31 
ANNEX III 
RULES APPLICABLE TO PROTECTION OF MINORS AND HUMAN 
DIGNITY 
I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 
1. Principle of freedom of expression 
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights reads: 
"i. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include 
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without 
interference by public authorities and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not 
prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema 
enterprises. 
2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and 
responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or 
penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in 
the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the 
prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the 
protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of 
information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and 
impartiality of the judiciary. " 
It is incorporated into the Community legal order in two ways: 
Article F(2) of the Treaty on European Union reads: "The Union shall respect 
fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection 
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed in Rome on 
4 November 1950 and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to 
the Member State, as general principles of Community law "; 
the European Court of Justice has acknowledged the relevance of the principle of 
freedom of expression as declared by Article 10 of the Convention and reckoned 
it among the general principles of Community law. In Case C-260/89 Elliniki 
Radiophonia Tileorassi [1991] ECR 1-2925 it held: 
"With regard to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights ... it 
must first be pointed out that, as the Court has consistently held, fundamental 
rights form an integral part of the general principles of law, the observance of 
which it ensures. For that purpose the Court draws inspiration from the 
constitutional traditions common to the Member States and from the guidelines 
supplied by international treaties for the protection of human rights on which the 
Member States have collaborated or of which they are signatories ... The 
European Convention on Human Rights has special significance in that respect 
...It follows that ... the Community cannot accept measures which are 
incompatible with observance of the human rights thus recognized and 
guaranteed". 
32 
In the Member States, the principle is of constitutional status (though not in the United 
Kingdom, which has no written constitution): 
National Freedom of Expression Provisions 
Source ot national 
provisions 
Constitution - Article 13 Media/types ol expression 
covered Limits to right 
Spoken or written, print or 
pictorial representation Ex post legal control Austria 
Belgium Constitution - Article 19 
(& Article 25 for press) All expression and all 
media Ex post legal control 
Denmark 
Finland Constitution - Section 77 
Constitution - Article 2 
Section 10 All media 
All media Ex post legal control 
Ex post legal control; prior control is 
allowed where the protection of 
children is imperative 
Depends on the particular medium - its 
technical restraints and "influence" Declaration ot the Rights 
of Man (constitutional 
text) - Article 11 
Constitution - Article 5 All media 
Germany" Speech, writing and 
pictures Ex post legal controls, in particular laws 
aimed at protection of youth and 
personal dignity 
Constitution - Article 14 TÏÏ Ex post control ot material that either 
insults Christianity or other known 
religions, insults the President, 
compromises national security or which 
is obscene 
Ireland e press 
Constitution -
Article 40.6.1 Expression ot convictions 
and opinions Restrictions are allowed to protect 
public order or morality (blasphemy, 
indecency) and the authority of the 
Constitution - Article 21 
Section 1 All media Restrictions based on public morality 
grounds 
Ex post legal control Italy 
Constitution - Article 24 Oral expression and the 
press, though interpreted 
more widely Luxembourg 
Constitution - Article 7 Press and broadcasting, and 
other media to a somewhat 
lesser extent Ex post legal control; non-press and 
non-broadcast media may be censored 
for persons under 16 Netherlands 
Constitution - Article 16 All expression 
Thoughts, ideas and 
opinions thrqugh any 
medium Ex post legal control 
Laws based on rights ot honour, 
privacy, self-image and protection of 
minors Portugal 
Spa Constitution - Article 20 
Constitution - RF 
Section 1; TF Chapter 1 
Section 1; YGL 
Chapter 1 Section 1 RF - general; IF - press; 
YGL - film and television, 
possibly online media RF - legal control "acceptable in a 
democratic society"; 
TF and YGL - ex post legal control 
based on protection of minors, 
violence, racial hatred Sweden 
Tjr 
Source: Hydra 
In practice, the Member States attach varying degrees of importance to the principle of 
freedom of expression, depending on their cultural and legal traditions. Some consequently 
have a general prohibition on any form of central control over the media and thus give 
pride of place to self-regulation. In others, State protection of public morality and minors 
entails advance censorship of different kinds. 
The effect of the relative paucity of cases and the duration of proceedings in the ECHR 
is that its decisions are of persuasive authority for national legislators rather than a direct 
means of securing the protection of the freedom of expression. 
33 
Both the cases and the academic writers acknowledge the dual dimension of the principle: 
it secures both the freedom to express and impart ideas and information and the freedom 
to seek and receive them. In the context of on-line services, it applies both to the service 
and to its users. Frontiers are immaterial. 
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has confirmed that the freedom of 
expression extends not only to ideas and information generally regarded as inoffensive but 
even to those that might offend, shock or disturb.1 
But the principle is never an absolute one. Freedom of expression may be restricted by 
the State, though the possible restrictions are circumscribed by a very precise set of 
combined criteria that have been clearly enunciated by the ECHR:2 
they must be prescribed by the law (transparency, to the exclusion of the 
arbitrary); 
they must be necessary, that is to say they must meet a genuine social need and 
respect the values inherent in a democratic society; 
they must pursue legitimate objects that are defined exhaustively; these include the 
protection of public health and morals, which are of particular relevance to the 
protection of minors and human dignity. 
It will be readily understood that the main difficulty lies in defining the necessary nature 
of a restrictive measure that is prescribed by law or pursues a legitimate objective. It is 
not enough for a measure to appear useful or reasonable. Its mandatory character can be 
deduced only from a detailed analysis of its effectiveness and the extent of the 
interference. The test is one of the proportionality of the restriction. 
One final point regarding Article 10 in the context of on-line services: the provision in 
the first paragraph for the possibility of requiring licensing for certain activities 
(broadcasting, television and cinema) has to be interpreted in the light of the Article taken 
as a whole3 and therefore of the principles behind it. It follows that the enabling provision 
cannot be used as a ground for unwarranted restrictions on freedom of expression that fail 
the proportionality test. 
Internationally, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also provides democratic 
countries with a common basis. Article 19 enshrines the principle of freedom of 
expression: 
"7. Eveiyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall 
include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, 
regardless of frontiers, either orally or in writing or in print, in the form of art, or 
through any other media of his choice. 
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article ccaries 
with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain 
Handy side v United Kingdom (1976). 
Handy side v United Kingdom (1976); Sunday Times v United Kingdom (1979). 
ECHR: Groppera Radio (1990), A utronic (1990) and Inform at ionsverein Lentia(\993). 
34 
restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided for by law and are 
necessary: 
(a) for respect of the rights or reputations of others; 
(b) for the protection of national security or of public order (ordre publique), 
or of public health or morals" 
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948 likewise 
upholds the principle. 
The differences in sensitivities and values are more marked between countries in different 
continents than between the countries of Europe. The principle of freedom of expression 
enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution has a far wider 
practical impact than the corresponding principle in Europe. 
The protection for speeches that incite racial hatred by the First Amendment clearly 
illustrates the difference between the impact of the principle in America and in most 
European countries: in a judgment given in June 1992 (RAV v City of St Paul), the 
Supreme Court held that an expression of racial hatred was not punishable as the hatred 
was addressed simply at an ethnic community. It could be condemned only if there was 
a clear and immediate risk of actual damage. 
The First Amendment, incidentally, has been taken to protect a whole series of non-verbal 
expressions, including setting fire to the national flag, exhibiting works of art and 
displaying slogans on T-shirts. v 
2. The principle of respect for privacy 
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights reads: 
"7. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home 
and his correspondence. 
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of 
this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a 
democratic society 'in the interests of national security, public safety or the 
economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for 
the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights or freedoms 
of others. " 
H. NATIONAL RULES 
1. The diversity of national legal and cultural traditions 
The diversity is visible in the first place in the institutional structures that allocate powers 
and jurisdiction between the central and local tiers of government. Member States with 
a federal structure or various forms of regional autonomy have to allocate powers in a 
way that is not necessary in a centralized state. In some media-related matters, the former 
have to respect varying local sensitivities to varying degrees. 
35 
Secondly, it is visible in the differing weight attached to case-law and legislation 
respectively, and also in the importance of the role played by the jury in criminal courts 
and civil courts. 
Thirdly, it is visible in the relationship between regulators and their client industries, 
notably in the encouragement given to self-regulation. 
And fourthly, it is visible in differing sensitivities in matters of morals and morality. The 
reactions of public opinion are often the determining factor where the protection of minors 
and human dignity is concerned, and they reflect deep-seated cultural differences. By way 
of illustration, there is a wide gap between the Nordic countries, which are tough on 
violent material but easy-going where sexually-explicit material is concerned, and the 
Latin countries, tough on sex but less so on violence. 
Regarding the protection of minors and human dignity, the diversity is often such as to 
make summaries and comparisons more than arduous: the practical response to a given 
general approach will vary from country to country, and even from region to region within 
the same country. 
Divergencies (and the lack of transparency) in national rules on the outright prohibition 
on production, distribution and in some cases possession of certain material generate 
several major difficulties in relation to transnational services. 
* Outright prohibitions on certain material 
In the implementation of such rules the relevant authorities and courts retain some room 
for discretion: 
there may be a general definition of prohibited material to be interpreted case by 
case in the light of social values prevailing at the relevant time and in the relevant 
place - by way of example, legislation prohibiting obscene or indecent material 
may be applied in different ways, depending on the moment in time and the 
country, and some prohibitions addressed to the press have been extended by the 
courts to all media generally; 
General categories 
Country 
Absolute 
prohibition of a 
general category 
of material A 
0 B 
0 
M DK D 
H E EIR 
0 
M F GR 
0 
M I 
0 
M L 
0 NL P S SF 
0 UK 
O 
M 
O: obscene material prohibited 
M: material contrary to sound morals and indecent material prohibited 
H: material detrimental to human dignity prohibited 
prohibited material may be defined more tightly (violent pornography, incitement 
to hatred, etc.) but the definition will have to be applied in a particular context; 
36 
Incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence 
Country 
Hatred, 
discrimination, 
violence A 
X B 
X DK 
X D 
X E EIR 
X F 
X GR I L 
X NL P 
X S 
X SF 
X UK 
X 
with a few exceptions (such as child pornography in some countries), possession 
of prohibited material rarely constitutes an offence, on account of the protection 
afforded to private life. Supplying it to others, or intending to do so, is more 
commonly required4; 
Child pornography 
Country 
Child 
pornography 
prohibited A 
s B 
s DK 
s D 
s E 
s EIR 
G F 
G GR 
G I 
G L 
G NL 
s P 
G S 
S SF 
G UK 
S 
G: general prohibition (obscenity, indecency, etc.) 
S: specific prohibition (child pornography, protection of children against sexual abuse, etc.) 
artistic and scientific works are generally excluded; 
some provisions, though still in force, are not enforced in practice. 
The result of these factors is a general lack of transparency in provisions imposing 
outright prohibitions, which makes it difficult to identify a common core of European 
rules and values. 
* Rules applicable in certain non-member countries 
In the area of international services or networks, all national legislation is naturally 
relevant. There are countries outside the European Union where there is little democracy 
and where the lack of respect for freedom of expression results in attempts to prohibit or 
drastically curtail access to new services, and, on the other side of the coin, there are 
countries where the absence of any real control creates a "paradise" for the circulation of 
material which is generally prohibited. Moreover, apart from general principles such as 
those laid down by international conventions or charters, particularly in the framework of 
Behind this facade of unanimity, there is a debate on the grounds for the prohibition and the scope 
of the prohibition. Where the prohibition is interpreted as a constraint on freedom of expression, 
it is confined to production, import, transfer and possession for transfer to others. But where it 
is enacted to prevent child abuse and protect minors against such sex offences, it extends to 
possession of material, which may accordingly be seized and the offender may be punishable. 
The Stockholm World Congress against the sexual exploitation of children for commercial 
purposes called for tougher national legislation and stricter enforcement, notably by extension of 
the prohibition of child pornography to cover possession. 
Incidentally, tKS.age of sexual majority varies from country to country. 
37 
the United Nations, widely varying value systems throughout the world often result in 
very diverse regulatory structures. 
However, this Green Paper is confined to three non-member countries: Canada, the United 
States and Japan. In terms of general bans, the situation in these three countries is broadly 
as follows: 
Canada has a general ban on the production and distribution of all child pornography and 
obscene material. This covers all forms of excessive exploitation of sex and any 
combination of sex and crime, horror, cruelty or violence. Furthermore, incitement to 
genocide or hatred of particular groups is prohibited, as is the intentional dissemination 
of false information. 
The United States has a general ban on child pornography5 and obscene material, 
operating at both Federal and State level. The ban on obscene material applies essentially 
to sex-related photographic and video material. On the other hand, the First Amendment 
(constitutional principle of freedom of speech) can also be applied to speeches inciting 
hatred or discrimination, provided that they do not constitute an immediate danger to 
people or goods. 
Japan also operates a total ban on the distribution and possession of obscene material for 
the purpose of sale. But the implementation of the ban relies mainly on codes of good 
practice established by the industries concerned, and can vary considerably from one 
region to another. Finally, neither the possession of such material for private use nor the 
production of obscene material for export is illegal. 
3. Differences in the rules applying to various media 
As well as outright bans, various considerations have resulted in the development of 
specific regulatory systems for each medium. 
3.1 Differences in rules 
As well as material on which there is an outright ban, there is also the question of 
material for which production and distribution is, in principle, authorized. Therefore, 
various objectives of general interest have resulted in the development of specific 
restrictions: 
the protection of minors against material which might harm their physical or 
mental development is an almost universal objective. It can also be linked to the 
notion of children's rights, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention. While 
parents have primary responsibility in the field, public authorities and the 
industries concerned have also traditionally played a decisive role. In one form or 
another, the protection of minors gives rise to a series of restrictions relating to the 
distribution of material which is, moreover, entirely legal; 
Which, in some States, also covers the possession of child pornography for private use. 
38 
the desire to protect sensitive people - the "average citizen" - against coming 
across material which might shock them, and, hence, to restrict access to such 
material to those who specifically wish to have it, entails certain restrictions on its 
distribution; 
the scarcity of certain media (Hertzian frequencies) has made it necessary for a 
third party to handle their allocation and the definition of criteria to take account 
of public interest. Such criteria traditionally involve restrictions on the type of 
material likely to be distributed by such media. 
These three objectives of general interest are not always clearly expressed or distinguished 
in national legislation, but they have largely been the basis for the development of 
different rules for different media. Complying with these objectives implies that the 
aspects peculiar to each medium must be taken into account, particularly as regards the 
following characteristics: 
the perceived impact of the medium: images, particularly moving images, are 
traditionally believed to have a greater impact than words; 
its presence in society: more attention is paid to the television in the corner of 
every room and the telephone in every hallway than to other, less common media; 
the degree of consumer choice offered by the medium: this depends both on the 
number of suppliers of material for a particular medium, the variety of material on 
offer, the amount of information available on the material, and, above all, the 
access methods for such material. 
In practice, the objective consideration of these different characteristics by the regulatory 
authorities is sometimes upset by less rational considerations. Occasional tragic incidents 
periodically bring to the fore the question of the media's influence on the development of 
violent or abnormal behaviour in society. In such cases, the violence of the public 
reaction, widely relayed in the press, sometimes prompts hasty accusations and 
disproportionate responses from the relevant authorities. 
3.2 The established media 
Despite the sometimes sizeable differences from one Member State to another revealed 
by a detailed study of regulations and other measures which exist at national level, it is 
possible to establish a rough profile of the rules which apply to the established media. 
3.2.1 Publishing 
Publishing appears to be the medium least subject to restrictions on freedom of 
expression. Even where there are rules on the material used,6 checks are usually carried 
As well as general bans and rules for the protection of minors, the rules on material used relate 
mainly to journalistic ethics (accuracy and objectivity of information, protection of privacy, respect 
for personal image, etc.). Moreover, legislation in some countries repeat certain general principles 
(relating to public morality, obscenity, non-discrimination, etc.) in texts specifically concerning 
the press. 
39 
out after publication.7 Furthermore, there is also little in the way of self-regulation, except 
for the codes of ethics for the press and particularly for journalism. 
On the other hand, several Member States (DK, ES, FR, GR and SF) have introduced 
registration of publications, compulsory checks by publishers on the material they publish, 
and even specific forms of liability which depart from the rules on liability in the ordinary 
law (FR, PT, SF). Such measures on transparency and/or liability allow disputes to be 
settled more easily. 
Moreover, Germany has a system of classification of publications which may cause harm 
to minors: a judicial federal authority establishes an official list of such publications, and 
access to these works is subsequently prohibited to minors. The material targeted usually 
consists of immoral publications, or those which contain violence or pornography, incite 
people to crime, defend National Socialism, attack human dignity or encourage the use 
of drugs. 
The general situation seems to reflect many of the most important characteristics of 
publishing: 
publishing is, in essence, the medium of free expression and the press, and plays 
a particularly decisive role in the working of democracies; 
anyone can publish something - the only constraints are financial - and this 
relative ease of access to publishing ensures a great diversity of publications; 
access to the published word requires an active choice on the part of the consumer, 
and it is relatively easy to keep contentious publications out of reach of minors. 
3.2.2 Cinema and video 
As a means of artistic expression, the cinema enjoys a large amount of freedom of 
expression. In all Member States, measures to protect minors include a compulsory or 
voluntary system of film classification which sets the recommended or required age at 
which children will be allowed to see films in the cinema. Although they have a common 
objective, these systems are very different8 and their implementation reflects the 
differences in sensitivities of national film classification boards. 
The classification of videos and other audiovisual products (CD-Rom, video games, etc.) 
is much less advanced, but, where it exists, tends to be based on the model of the 
cinema.9 
Among the Member States, there are two exceptions to the principle of post-publication 
verification: in Ireland, the Censorship of Publications Board prohibits the publication of material 
which is indecent, obscene, pro-abortion or too concerned with subjects relating to crime. 
In France, Mayors or Prefects can seize a publication in the interests of public order. 
The simplest classification systems consist of only two categories of film (suitable or unsuitable 
for minors), and only those films for which a classification of "suitable for minors" is being 
sought need undergo the classification procedure. In other countries, there are various 
classifications according to age. In some cases, classifications within the category of "suitable for 
minors" exist only to guide parents. In such cases, minors accompanied by adults may be admitted 
to films which are not recommended for their age group. In other cases, it is up to the cinemas 
themselves to ensure that classifications are respected by checking the age of customers. 
However, there are some differences between the two: the label may be purely for information, 
40 
3.2.3 Television broadcasting 
Material broadcast on television is subject to stringent regulations. In the various Member 
States, there are various methods of making the rules and ensuring they are obeyed: 
most of the Member States have legislation to protect human dignity and public 
morality; 
systems whereby individual authorizations are issued to broadcasters (often 
accompanied by specifications setting out precise rules) exist in most Member 
States and are a powerful method of control (violation of the rules could lead to 
the withdrawal of the authorization); 
self-regulation is also highly developed, whether it be a system which is an 
integral part of the operation of the public service, or a private initiative on the 
part of broadcasters; 
monitoring authorities, with varying levels of power and resources, have also 
sprung up in most Member States. 
Apart from these general points, there are clear differences in the operating conditions 
enjoyed by broadcasters, which range from the application of rules similar to those for 
publishing (DK, NL, S), to precisely regulated systems with systematic checks. 
While the type of material which causes problems is more or less the same in the various 
Member States (nudity/sexuality, gratuitous violence, incitement to discrimination or to 
hatred), differences in sensitivity can be detected in the practical application of the rules 
in the different Member States. 
The rules applying to television have often been justified on the basis of its wide 
distribution, and enforced using the rules on the granting of frequencies (as they are so 
scarce). 
as there may be no obligation on the establishment renting or selling the vidéocassettes to check 
them; self-classification is highly developed in the video industry, either as a complement to, or 
as a replacement for binding regulations. 
41 
3.2.4 Audiotex and videotex services 
* audiotex 
Services accessible by telephone (audiotex and discussion forums) should, in principle, 
be given a high degree of protection, in terms of freedom of expression, because of the 
traditionally private nature of telephone communications. However, the development of 
services of a sexual nature has caused problems in relation to the protection of minors10 
which has given rise to specific measures. These services are treated differently, 
depending on whether they are added-value telecommunications services (billing by the 
communications operator) or direct pay services (by credit card or subscription). 
In the first case, public action, and self-regulation in particular, depend on the cooperation 
of telecommunications operators, which constitute an interface between the providers of 
clearly identified services and the consumer: 
it has been possible to insert certain clauses on good practice into contracts 
between telecommunications operators and service providers. Failure to comply 
with these could result in a refusal to carry the service; 
certain types of service have been clearly identified by a specific numbering 
system; 
telecommunications operators have had to offer consumers opt-outs (making 
certain types of services inaccessible on their telephone), opt-ins (for which an 
explicit application for access to particular services must be made), blocking of 
certain numbers on request, or access only on the basis of a personal identification 
code. 
In the second case, the absence of an intermediary between the consumer and the service 
has resulted in more liberal arrangements: in most cases, the need to use a credit card or 
any other means of direct payment has been considered a sufficient guarantee of the 
protection of minors. In some cases, however, a licence requirement has allowed a code 
of practice to be imposed on such services. 
All the countries which have implemented a regulation in relation to national telephone 
services,11 in one form or another, have noted an increase in the use of foreign services. 
Attempts to subject these services to the same rules as national services have come up 
against both technical and diplomatic hurdles. 
* Videotex 
Videotex services have never really become mainstream consumer services except in 
France and Germany, which explains the lack of specific measures in other countries. 
In practice, in the majority of Member States, the main problem caused by added-value 
telecommunications services is the protection of consumers who complain that their telephone bill 
has gone up unexpectedly. It is, therefore, difficult to balance the twin objectives of consumer 
protection and protection of minors in certain legislative instruments or self-regulation systems. 
For example, Greece applies a total ban on pornographic services, which is clearly aimed at more 
than just the protection of minors. 
42 
In France, the law provides only for a system of declaring telematic services, but the 
telecommunications operator (France Telecom), under the supervision of the Comité de 
la Télématique Anonyme, implements the recommendations defined by the Conseil 
Supérieur de la Télématique. Various rules on the material are inserted in the contracts 
concluded with service providers, and opt-out and opt-in mechanisms are available for 
different categories of service, clearly identified by a specific numbering system. 
In Germany, a Treaty between the Bund and the Lander (the Btx Treaty) sets the general 
rules for the provision of videotex services, while the telecommunications operator 
(Deutsche Telekom) has developed a system of self-regulation which is incorporated into 
its contracts with service providers. 
* Self-regulation in the international context 
Both audiotex and videotex services have given rise to self-regulation initiatives at 
European and international levels. 
The Guidelines for the Supervision of Transfrontier Audiotex and Videotex Services of 
1994 were prepared under the auspices of the European Association of Information 
Industries by télécoms operators and service providers. At the international level, the Code 
of Practice of the International Telemedia Association (1995) pursues the same objectives. 
One of their common fundamental principles is that the law of the country of reception 
must be observed. 
3.3 New services 
The legal situation for new services is not yet very clear and is still being debated in 
many Member States. 
Digital television and new broadcasting services (pay-per-view, near video on demand) 
are covered by legislation relating to television. However, certain characteristics of the 
new services may be taken into consideration, depending on the flexibility of the national 
system. 
For example, in the United Kingdom, the Independent Television Commission (ITC)12 has 
already recognized that broadcasting services no longer form a homogeneous whole in 
view of the new choices available to consumers: a more flexible system than that applied 
to public access television has already been applied to pay channels.13 Moreover, the ITC 
has declared that it is ready to lift the constraints on programme scheduling, on an 
experimental basis, provided that alternative measures can be used to control access by 
minors. 
The arrangements for video on demand are much less clear. Member States feel that it 
would be more appropriate to cover these types of services using the legislation on 
12 United Kingdom broadcasting monitoring organization (with the exception of the BBC). 
13 These services freed from the obligation of showing family programmes from 2000 hours onwards 
(instead of 2100) and from 2200 onwards may broadcast programmes which would not normally 
be authorized on public access channels. 
43 
broadcasting14 or telecommunications services. In some cases, a combination of the two 
may be possible.15 In any event, at this stage, the debate centres more on deciding on the 
responsible authorities than on the type of rules to be applied. Moreover, certain 
temporary legislative instruments have been introduced to facilitate the development of 
pilot schemes pending decisions on the specific needs of these new services. 
On-line services and the Internet are not subject to any general regulation or 
self-regulation in the Member States.16 General rules apply, but have yet to be tested in 
specific cases. The only attempt at the regulation of the Internet's on-line services, which 
took place in the United States, illustrates particularly well how fraught with difficulties 
the question is. 
The specific problems posed by the new services (notably the decentralized and highly 
interactive services, are considered in the Communication on Harmful and Illegal Content. 
HL TELEVISION WITHOUT FRONTIERS DIRECTIVE 
The protection of minors is one of the fields coordinated by the Directive. There are also 
a number of rules governing respect for human dignity. 
1.1 Protection of minors 
The system for the protection of minors is based both on common rules (Art. 22) and an 
exceptional procedure (Art. 2(2)). 
Article 22 provides for a modulated regime distinguishing the degree of danger that 
programmes might raise for minors: 
some programmes are prohibited: "Member States shall take appropriate measures 
to ensure that television broadcasts by broadcasters under their jurisdiction do not 
include programmes which might seriously impair the physical, mental or moral 
development of minors, in particular those that involve pornography or gratuitous 
violence"; 
others may be broadcast subject to certain precautions: "This provision shall 
extend to other programmes which are likely to impair the physical, mental or 
moral development of minors, except where it is ensured, by selecting the time of 
the broadcast or by any technical measure, that minors in the area of transmission 
will not normally hear or see such broadcasts. " 
14 
16 For example, in France, the legislation for "audiovisual communications" evidently cover VOD, 
as does the Broadcasting Act in the United Kingdom. 
In the case of the United Kingdom, the VOD system tested by British Telecom in Ipswich was 
licensed as a telecommunications system and was registered for control of material by the ITC. 
In France an Act of 26.7.1996 requires providers of access to the Internet to give their customers 
parental control options. Furthermore, Internet self-regulation initiatives are currently under 
development in various Member States. 
44 
The decisive criterion is therefore the extent to which broadcasts may impair the 
development of minors. Its assessment is left primarily to the discretion of the Member 
States. The terms "pornography" and "gratuitous violence" are in this context merely 
illustrations of the type of content which may be considered likely to seriously impair the 
development of minors and are not covered by any common definitions. 
Article 2(2) further allows the Member States to suspend retransmission of broadcasts: 
"Member States may provisionally suspend retransmissions of television broadcasts 
if the following conditions are fulfilled: 
(a) a television broadcast coming from another Member State manifestly, 
seriously and gravely infringes A rticle 22; 
(b) during the previous 12 months, the broadcaster has infringed the same 
provisions on at least two prior occasions". 
In such an event, a specific procedure exists whereby an attempt is made to arrive at an 
amicable agreement before the suspension of retransmission is authorized under 
Commission supervision, on the basis of an assessment of the conformity of the measures 
taken with Community law (proportionality). 
This procedure has been implemented on only two occasions, in both cases at the behest 
of the United Kingdom, in relation to encoded satellite broadcasts of hard-core 
pornography. In the most recent case (XXXTV), in November 1995, the suspension 
measures taken by the United Kingdom (legal ban on the sale of decoders and decoder 
cards and on the promotion of the station in question) were deemed consistent with 
Community law by the Commission in a formal opinion.17 
2. Protection of human dignity 
The Directive (Article 22(2)) lays down a general prohibition on incitement to hatred: 
"Member States shall ensure that broadcasts do not contain any incitement to 
hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality. " 
The procedure laid down in Article 2(2), which can be applied in the event of the 
infringement of this provision, has never been implemented on these grounds. 
3. Amendment of the Directive 
On the whole, then, this method of harmonizing national legislation, accompanied by a 
redress procedure for the receiving Member State, has worked well in the familiar 
television environment. As regards the protection of minors, the common position adopted 
by the Council on 11 June 1996 makes no changes to the substance of Articles 22 
and 2(2). It does, however, serve to clarify some terms and strengthen others. 
Article 22 has been split into two separate paragraphs in order to clarify the difference in 
approach according to whether programmes are likely to seriously impair or, more simply, 
17 C(95)2678 final, 3 November 1995. 
45 
impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors. An additional subparagraph 
stipulates that: 
"Furthermore, when such programmes are broadcast in unencoded form, Member 
States shall ensure that they are preceded by an acoustic warning or are identified 
by the presence of a visual symbol throughout their duration." 
Moreover, a new article introduces a twofold obligation for the Commission: 
it must attach particular importance to the application of the rules on the protection 
of minors and human dignity in its periodic report on the application of the 
Directive; 
it must, in liaison with the competent Member State authorities, "carry out an 
investigation of the possible advantages and drawbacks of further measures with 
a view to facilitating the control exercised by parents or guardians over the 
programmes that minors may watch". 
Furthermore, the procedure provided for in Article 2(2) has been slightly amended, 
particularly to provide for a formal Commission decision on the compatibility with 
Community law of national suspension measures taken against stations which have 
infringed the rules on the protection of minors and human dignity. 
Given the great store it sets by the protection of minors and human dignity, the European 
Parliament is likely to make amendments to this article at second reading on the basis of 
the amended proposal. 
46 
ANNEX IV 
TECHNICAL AND OTHER NON-REGULATORY PROTECTION MEASURES 
1. Parental control devices applied to television broadcasting 
Canada has been a pioneer in this field: in the 1990s the Conseil de la Radiodiffusion et 
des Télécommunications (CRTC) launched a strategy to curb violence on television. From 
the outset this strategy has been shaped by five guiding principles: 
collaboration based on the principle that violence on television is a cause of 
psychological problems among children; 
protection of children and not censorship of adults; 
concentration on gratuitous or idealized violence without involving eroticism or 
other moral considerations; 
involvement of all those concerned: broadcasters, advertisers, producers, parents, 
teachers and specialists in mental health; 
adoption of a dual perspective, one short-term and one long-term. 
In more practical terms, the strategy is based on a raft of complementary measures: 
- , codes of conduct worked out with the industry; 
classification of programmes; 
anti-violence or "V" chip1; 
information campaign to increase public awareness, and media education 
programme. 
In terms of the relative importance of these different measures in the overall strategy, the 
Canadian authorities believe that the first three account for a mere 20% of the answer 
(with the V-chip accounting for 10%), the main thing being to change attitudes in the long 
term through information, awareness-raising and education (80%). 
The United States, which has been involved with this Canadian initiative from a very 
early stage, has up to a point adopted the same approach: the Telecommunication Act was 
amended to require TV manufacturers to incorporate the anti-violence chip into their 
products. Since then, the industries involved have been working on the introduction of a 
programme classification and encoding system which should be operational by January 
The anti-violence chip is a technical device developed by Professor Tim Collins at Simon Fraser 
University, Vancouver. This microchip, incorporated in a television set, a cable selector or a 
decoder, reads the classification code of each programme. The viewer can programme this chip 
to block the signal of programmes with a classification which exceeds the level considered 
acceptable for that family. Thus, if the viewer selects the violence level V3, programmes coded 
V4 and V5 will not appear on the screen. Programme classification codes could be applied to 
aspects other than violence as required (nudity, sex, bad language, etc.). 
It should be noted that the expressions "ami-violence chip" or "V-chip" relate directly to this 
Canadian proprietary system. We therefore prefer, in relating to a broader concept, to refer to 
parental control systems or devices. 
47 
1997. The Children's Programming Act also requires broadcasters to make an effort to 
broadcast children's programmes. 
In Europe, as in the USA, the debate at once centred on whether a parental control system 
should be imposed, whether at national or Community level, before the objectives of a 
system of this type have been clearly established. 
On the general philosophy of the system, the main arguments propounded in Europe can 
be summarized as follows: 
Supporters of the system point out that it does away with programme censorship 
a priori and offers every parent the opportunity to control their children's access 
to television according to their own set of values, even in their absence; this type 
of system would therefore allow broadcasters greater freedom of expression while 
respecting the individual values and child-rearing philosophy of parents. What is 
more, no-one has pointed out the advantages of such a system for cross-border 
services if it could be used to replace sometimes incompatible regulations. 
Opponents of the system point out the dangers of a complete transfer of 
broadcasters' responsibilities to the parents: firstly, the system could be used to 
justify slippages in broadcasters' schedules; secondly, not all parents are willing 
or able to exercise the responsibility that this system would place on them. As this 
is a system designed for use with non-encoded services, many minors could thus 
be exposed to programmes harmful to their development. 
This basic controversy shows how relatively little attention has been paid in Europe to the 
Canadian experience, since the CRTC defined and limited its strategy precisely to avoid 
this clash of principles. In Canada, the anti-violence chip was considered neither as an end 
in itself nor as a universal panacea capable of resolving all problems single-handed. The 
two most important elements of the Canadian approach are still the identification of a 
specific objective and the definition of a long-term strategy. Even the CRTC views the 
anti-violence chip as no more than a gizmo which would be useless if the 
awareness-raising campaign failed to bear fruit within a time span of ten years or so. 
In addition to the debate on the philosophy of parental control, various practical 
difficulties have been highlighted. 
The adoption of a common system by several broadcasters implies a common and 
systematic classification of all programmes broadcast. The introduction of a 
common system raises the question of responsibility for classification, supervision 
and possible penalties (a central authority or self-regulation by the operators). This 
question grows in complexity as the number of broadcasters concerned increases, 
and culminates in the question of cross-border operation. 
The quantity and diversity of programmes to be classified raises a great many 
questions on how to evaluate the impact of certain material according to context 
(e.g. violent images shown on the news) or whether it is actually possible to 
classify certain programmes (a live debate can lead to unexpected remarks or 
behaviour). 
Making a parental control device compulsory for television sets would require a 
lengthy transitional period depending on the rate of renewal of existing sets. 
Moreover, old sets often end their life in children's rooms. The choice of a specific 
device would concentrate technological innovation in this particular field, 
48 
depriving consumers of solutions which might have been better suited to their 
needs. 
Finally, the introduction of this type of system would create relative economic 
uncertainty, since audience ratings, on which the economy of broadcasting 
financed by advertising is largely based, would be undermined to some extent by 
the difficulty of analysing the use parents would actually make of the device. 
These various problems are not unsurmountable, since Canada and the United States have 
decided to tackle them, but it must be said that, in the Member States which have 
discussed this matter, the compulsory introduction of parental control devices has been 
rejected in favour of other types of action.2 The debate in Europe, launched by the 
European Parliament, is still going on. 
Consumer electronics manufacturers are particularly concerned by the development of 
parental control devices. The EACEM3 in particular has adopted very clear positions on 
this matter. It recognizes the advantages of developing systems to provide parents with 
better ways of controlling what children watch and consequently supports any initiative 
on the classification of material, including compulsory measures. On the other hand, it 
points out that the imposition of one particular technical device would be 
counter-productive, notably because a single specific technology cannot be the best option 
for every system for processing and labelling material now or in the future, and because 
a large number of formulas are possible depending on the way in which parents wish to 
use the information offered by the classification of material. 
2. Parental control devices applied to on-line services 
While the proprietary on-line services and some information providers have always been 
conscious of the need to protect minors from certain types of material, the threat followed 
by the enactment of special legislation in the United States has turned the whole question 
upside down. 
The Telecommunication Act, signed by President Clinton on 8 February 1996, introduced 
a number of rules on material circulating on electronic networks.4 In substance, these rules 
made it illegal knowingly to provide indecent or manifestly shocking material to minors 
via electronic computer networks. 
The industry reacted in two ways: 
first, a coalition of publishers, material providers, access providers and civil 
liberties associations, attacked the legislation, claiming it violated the First 
Amendment (freedom of expression), and having the Act invalidated by the 
Philadelphia Federal Court of Appeals; 
In France, the CSA asked non-encrypted broadcasters (private and public) to develop common 
classifications and identifiers for programmes which could be harmful to minors and a code of 
conduct for television news programmes. 
European Association of Consumer Electronics Manufacturers. 
Attached to the provisions on the V-chip, these rules are now known as the Communications 
Decency Act (CDA). 
49 
then it stepped up its efforts to find an alternative solution to legislation as soon 
as the Bill appeared. 
The basis for the invalidation of the Act was primarily the fact that, as there was no 
reasonable way in which information suppliers could ensure that no minor would have 
access to it, the Act would require them to censor all indecent material despite the fact 
that adults had a constitutional right to access it.5 
Control mechanisms have been developed at different levels. 
The mechanisms used at the level of information providers are as follows: 
insertion of a warning page alerting the user to the potentially controversial nature 
of the site or the material he wishes to access; this is intended more as information 
than protection, the risk being that it will be more of an incentive than a deterrent, 
particularly for minors; 
pre-access age check: the information provider states the conditions for access to 
the material in a cover page. Many of the commercial sites require a variety of 
guarantees in the form of written requests for access (by e-mail or post) or 
payment by credit card. Some companies are also trying to centralize this process, 
particularly so that non-commercial sites can benefit: on payment of a modest sum 
by credit card, the user receives a personal identification code giving him access 
to all the affiliated sites; 
putting the material offered on special servers (cache-based systems): in this case 
an operator creates a closed network giving access only to certain material selected 
from all the information available on the Internet. This approved material can be 
classified and differential access given on the basis of personal identification 
codes. Although the choice of material is limited to what has been approved, this 
type of system provides a high level of security. It is particularly used for 
providing cable and school access to the Internet. 
It is not the place of access providers, who seldom if ever provide material themselves, 
to introduce systematic controls on information. They may, however, be required to help 
control illegal material by blocking pre-identified sites (black lists). Apart from the 
problems created by the difficulty of constantly updating these lists and the risk of 
withholding access to legitimate material, it is clear that this type of measure would not 
solve the specific problem of protecting minors (it would require the systematic blocking 
of material which adults must be able to access). 
On the other hand, some access providers can offer restricted access (for minors, for 
example) by using various filters, blocks or preselection of sites. This is an additional 
service which requires special investment and must be distinguished from the 
straightforward provision of access. 
At user level, there are various parental control systems: 
"A wealth of persuasive evidence ... proved that it is either technologically impossible or 
economically prohibitive for many of the plaintiffs to comply with the CDA without seriously 
impeding their posting of on-line material which adults have a constitutional right to access." 
50 
Comparison of the features offered by different software packages 
Interna Utter* Net Nanny NetShepherd Parental Guidance SNAG Cyber 
Patrol" L'YEERSme 
T55W "TPRTW Surfwatch 
Price TBB" 539.95 M5.M 
Blocking by" 
site y« 
weekly dBfy yes 
twice-monthly yes yes 
Blacklist 
update 
frequency 
Update cost 139,» p.»-
(first six 
months free) monthly 
Ratings "~ 
compliant** free 
PICS, 
SafeSurf, 
RSACi VCR, HI'S. 
SafeSurf. 
RSACi •PrCSTSiTSSuTT McKinley (Jroup $5.95 per month 
PICS. RSACi 
Update cost Net Shepherd 
Global Ratings 
Bureau, PICS 
$5.95 per annum 
for NSGRB 
keywords""?" 
file types keyword keyword or file 
type PlCS-based keyword (no 
automatic 
blocking) keyword Filtering 
options 
List/filter 
Editing yes yes yes yes 
Usage 
monitor yes yes 
• - more limited but free versions of the software are avai 
Source: Hydra able. yes 
3. Media education 
Most of the different aspects of media education are relevant to the protection of minors 
and human dignity in the new services. 
Schools still need to provide more encouragement for the acquisition of skills in the use 
of new tools, especially involving computers. The most appropriate method of media 
education is still the hands-on approach. However, parental enlightenment is also crucially 
important. What is the point of a parental control device if the parents have to ask their 
children to instal or programme it? Education in the visual image would serve to develop 
a critical attitude in adolescents and a new type of demand as regards the quality and 
diversity of audiovisual content. Furthermore, this type of education would produce 
long-term effects enabling' future generations of parents to perform their child-rearing 
responsibilities more effectively. Measures to improve parental awareness and information 
as to the various types of harm to which their children may be exposed are an inevitable 
corollary to their increasing level of responsibility. 
There is recurring debate on these issues in educational circles in all the Member States, 
and experiments and research are being run on a sporadic basis, notably at local levels. 
Efforts to increase adult awareness and involvement in media education are much less 
developed, there are a number of measures which offer themselves as possible examples: 
In the Netherlands, the Kinderkast, a non-governmental organization, has the task 
of increasing awareness of various aspects of the child/television relationship. This 
organization performs a variety of activities: production of newsletters, teaching 
materials for children, parents and educators, research into children's viewing 
habits, monitoring of television programme schedules, etc; 
51 
In Spain, the Ministry for Social Affairs has published an awareness booklet on 
the place and use of television and the new services in the home;6 
In the United Kingdom, the National Council for Educational Technology devises 
measures to help teachers and pupils to take advantage of the new technologies. 
It has published various papers on the new communications networks, most 
notably a schools booklet on the problems of pornography on the Internet 
suggesting various initiatives which schools could take in this area; 
In the United States, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and 
the Interactive Services Association have published a joint booklet entitled "Child 
Safety on the Information Superhighway", intended to help parents to understand 
the nature of on-line services, the Internet and BBS. 
Apart from the organization of a few European-scale meetings on these various facets of 
media education, the exchange of information and good practice and the establishment of 
networks on the European or world scale are still in their infancy. 
4. Promotion of high-quality material intended for minors 
In some Member States, analysis of the relationship between the media and minors has 
resulted in the improvement of the programme supply for minors being deemed a priority. 
In view of the difficulties specific to the production and distribution of such programmes 
(How should programmes be adapted to different age groups? How are programmes 
intended for a segment of the population which has not yet the status of solvent 
consumers to be funded? How are outlets to be found for these niche programmes?), the 
public authorities and/or the operators themselves have devised policies for the promotion 
of high-quality programmes. 
These policies mainly concern cinema and television. In the field of on-line services and 
the Internet, everything still remains to be done to promote the development of 
high-quality sites for minors. The classification and labelling of contents adapted to 
minors (particularly in the form of white lists) is a first step in this direction. Other forms 
of encouragement on the lines of those introduced for other media could also be 
appropriate. 
* Promoting parental control systems and the labelling of material 
The development of filtering systems based on labelled material meets in full the 
preconditions for genuine responsibility on the part of parents and teachers: it provides 
as much information as possible on the material available so that access can be selected 
automatically using control devices, on the basis of the family's own criteria (children's 
age, sensitivity and educational choices). These tools, which are vital in a decentralized 
services environment, could also prove a useful adjunct to other systems in centralized 
services. 
This type of system can be applied in practice only by following certain steps: 
"<<Qué Miras?, <,Qué Haces? - La familia, las nifias y los ninos ante la television y las nuevas 
pantallas." 
52 
information must be supplied on the material in question 
(classification/labelling); 
this information is enclosed as a message with the material (coding); 
the message is transmitted as a substitute for access to the material 
(transmission); 
the message is read by an control device (decoding); 
control devices are supplied to users. 
Classification/labelling of material, irrespective of the media or networks transmitting it, 
is clearly a priority: without it there is no point in developing solutions for the other 
stages in the process. To ensure perfect compatibility of the various sources of labelling, 
it would be useful to define common categories (nudity, sexuality, violence, bad language, 
etc.) based on a set of age-groups. 
The next three stages (encoding, transmission and decoding) are neutral. However, they 
do raise the question of the compatibility of labels from different sources and the 
proliferation of control devices (hardware or software) designed to use them. It is 
important here to secure the greatest possible degree of compatibility on the basis of non­
proprietary open standards. 
The provision of control devices raises two separate issues: the first concerns their 
development and production by industry and the second their marketing and supply to 
users. 
The spontaneous development of a wide variety of parental control systems for the 
Internet and other services shows that industry can very quickly come up with systems 
which take into account users' needs and the general environment of available services. 
Measures to promote standardization and the labelling of material as outlined above can 
only reinforce this tendency and bring product prices down. However, any attempt to 
define or prescribe a specific system would run the risk of placing an artificial barrier on 
promising developments. 
The marketing and supply of parental control devices to users raises more complex 
questions. In services where parental control devices are the only effective means of 
protecting minors, they should automatically be supplied - or offered - to users. However, 
these automatic supply arrangements must not interfere with competition between different 
types of device, which is an inherent guarantee of progress in the systems offered. 
53 



ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(96) 483 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 05 06 15 16 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-515-EN-C 
ISBN92-78-10180-X 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg 
5"1