SCREENING AND COMPLIANCE OF CONTENT

Overview

  • Satisfying the different requirements for different mass media (TV, newspapers, etc.) and other broadcasting structures (cinema, theatres, websites, online stores, VOD, etc.)
  • Meeting the specific requirements for advertisement content
  • Being updated on the ongoing development of restrictions due to the current socio-political environment
  • Being aware of unwritten restrictions (concerning content related to politics, religion, World War II)

Core legal issues

  • Strong language
  • Showing tobacco
  • Drugs and/or drugs promotion
  • Violence and cruelty
  • Information on means of committing suicide
  • Public calls for participation in unapproved meetings
  • Child protection legislation: proper age labelling, restrictions on broadcast timing.
  • Children content restrictions, including representation of ‘non-traditional’ (gay) sexual relations
  • Dissemination and promotion of pornography
  • Extremism and separatism

Possible targets of the current content legislation?

  1. Producers and rights-holders:
  • Assessment of the Russian market as a platform for distribution
  • Cost- and time-efficient adaptation of content in accordance with local requirements and restrictions (mainly language, product placement, and age labelling)
  • Fulfilment of contractual obligations regarding content with local distributors
  1. Mass media:
  • Strict restrictions on content distributed via mass media
  • Recent tightening of legislation on mass media and enforcement practice (restriction of commercials on pay TV, limitation of shares in non-Russian entities and individuals in Russian mass media organisations, etc.)
  • Two warning letters from the regulatory authority within a year are ground for business termination for a mass media organisation;
  1. Pay TV channels:
  • Pay TV channels are part of the mass media
  • From January, 1st, 2015, commercials are prohibited on pay TV
  • Product placement, cross-promo campaigns and other indirect advertisements on pay TV are considered to be in breach of the law
  1. Cinema and theatres:
  • Screening movies containing strong language is prohibited in cinemas.

MGAP’s experience includes

  • Offering legal advice to foreign TV channels to comply with mass media and advertising requirements
  • Offering legal advice to major Russian production and distribution companies on various issues during the production, promotion and distribution of motion pictures
  • Offering legal advice to a major US film studio on parental ratings for their motion pictures
  • Offering legal advice to a popular looped video service with over 45 million users per month on advertising matters.