A new voluntary code of conduct has been launched for on-demand audiovisual service providers, setting out the minimum standards.
The code of conduct has been jointly released by the On-Demand Audiovisual Services (ODAS) group within IBEC’s Audiovisual Federation (AF) and Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF), the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI).
Its main undertakings state that the content of these services will not contain anything to incite hatred based on race, religion and nationality, among others.
Content should be labelled to make consumers aware of what they’re watching in advance. Advertisements on these services should be “legal, decent, honest and truthful and shall not prejudice respect for human dignity, health, or the protection of the environment”.
The services should also comply with decisions of the BAI and the ASAI as appropriate.
Along with setting out the minimum of standards for on-demand audiovisual services, such as RTE Player and TV3 Catch-Up, it also provides a complaints mechanism for consumers and complies with European directives, according to the three groups.
The BAI compliance committee and the ASAI will provide a further channel for complaints if the service provider fails to deal with them.
“On-demand services are impacting many sectors of the Irish economy. This code will ensure that standards are upheld in the increasingly digital world in which we live,” said Tommy McCabe, AV and TIF director.
