| Abstract: |
For over 10 years the European Community has strived to develop suitable and
proportionate answers to the phenomenon of convergence in its audiovisual
regulatory policy. This article outlines the regulatory process at an EU level
since the early 1980s as far as media, telecommunications and Information
Society services are concerned, and analyses some of the most relevant policy
papers specifically related to the adoption of the EC legal framework for the
media in the digital age, before focusing on the preparatory phase leading up
to the adoption of the Commission proposal for a Directive on "Audiovisual
Media Services", issued in December 2005. In addition, the core of this
proposal for a revised "Television without Frontiers" Directive, i.e. the
extension of its scope to cover new media services provided in a non-linear
manner and the introduction of a graduated regime of regulation with a
lighter-touch approach in view of such services, is presented along with the
main lines of debate among stakeholders. |