WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3287/97 by David HALLAM to the Commission. Transfrontier transmission of hard-core pornographic material across the European Union
Date: 1997-10-13
Institutions: European Parliament, HALLAM
Subjects: United Kingdom, child protection, control of communications, free movement of programmes, infancy, pay television, pornography, selective dissemination of information, television

16. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 117/169

(98/C 117/231)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3287/97

by David Hallam (PSE) to the Commission

(13 October 1997)

Subject: Transfrontier transmission of hard-core pornographic material across the European Union

In  his  response  to  my  Written  Question  P-2792/96 (1),  the  Commissioner  stated  that  the  Commission  will  be
asking  the  United  Kingdom  to  confirm  the  basis  on  which  it  considers  that  the  (cid:145)Adult  Channel(cid:146),  (cid:145)Fantasy
Channel(cid:146) and (cid:145)Playboy Channel(cid:146), (which have been qualified by the UK authorities as (cid:145)soft pornography(cid:146)) do not
infringe Article 22 of Directive 89/552/EEC (2).

Has the Commission had any response from the UK, and if so, is it satisfied with the basis they put forward for
claiming compliance by the aforementioned channels to Article 22?

(1)  OJ C 83, 14.3.1997, p. 68.
(2)  OJ L 298, 17.10.1989, p. 23.

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 1997)

The Commission did indeed contact the United Kingdom authorities on the matter raised by the Honourable
Member.  They  explained  that,  unlike  the  non-British  licensed  channels  (such  as  TV  Erotica,  Rendez-vous)
against  which  proscription  orders  were  made  in  accordance  with  the  procedures  set  out  in  Article  2(2)  of
Directive 89/552/EEC, the programme content of the three British licensed channels mentioned is considered
acceptable. Article 22 of the Directive bans the transmission of programmes (cid:145)likely to impair the physical, mental
or moral development of minors(cid:146), except where it is ensured, (cid:145)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(cid:146). All
three  British  channels  are  subscription  channels,  encrypted  and  broadcast  late  at  night.  They  rarely  contain
explicit  sexual  or  gratuitously  violent  material,  and  in  respect  of  sexual  acts  in  particular  depict  them  quite
differently from the treatment given to them in hard-core films shown on the proscribed channels.

Nevertheless the British authorities have assured the Commission that the Independent television commission is
sensitive to the problematic nature of these channels, and regularly monitors them to ensure compliance with its
programme code, conformity with which is a licence condition. The British authorities informed the Commission
that there were only 11 complaints from viewers over the previous 12 months, usually when a cable company had
experienced technical problems and one of these channels had broadcast accidentally (cid:145)in the clear(cid:146). All such
complaints were immediately dealt with, and the technical fault rectified.

The  Commission  is  therefore  satisfied  that  the  British  licensed  channels  are  carefully  monitored,  that  their
content does not include material which might (cid:145)seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of
minors(cid:146),  which  is  not  permitted  under  the  Directive,  and  that  the  technical  measures  and  broadcast  time  are
sufficient to ensure their general unavailability to minors.

(98/C 117/232)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3308/97

by Florus Wijsenbeek (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 October 1997)

Subject: Need for a European School in The Hague

Is the Commission aware that staff of the European Patents Office in Rijswijk have no access to a European
School facility, whereas the Patents Head Office in Munich does?