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Ofcom censors right leaning views broadcast by GB News
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| 3rd November 2024
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| See article from ofcom.org.uk
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Ofcom has fined GB News Limited for breaching the special impartiality requirements in the programme People's Forum: The Prime Minist er broadcast on 12 February 2024. Ofcom writes: The programme featured the then
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, in a question-and-answer session with a studio audience about the Government's policies and performance. Our Breach Decision published on 20 May 2024 found this programme failed to maintain due impartiality on a matter of
major political controversy and a major matter of current public policy, and due impartiality was not preserved through clearly linked and timely programmes, in breach of Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code . Given the
seriousness and repeated nature of the breach of these rules, Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty of 2£100,000 on GB News Limited and also directed the Licensee to broadcast a statement of our findings in this case, on a date and in a form to be
determined by Ofcom. GB News is challenging the Breach Decision by judicial review, which we are defending. Ofcom will not enforce this sanction decision until those proceedings are concluded.
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Labour government inevitably continues with creation of online ID system
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| 3rd November 2024
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| See article from reclaimthenet.org |
The UK government has launched the Office for Digital Identities and Attribute (OfDIA), a group within the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, tasked with encouraging the growth of the digital ID market under the leadership of chief
executive Hannah Rutter. In fact the Labour government is continuing with a Tory idea that was first announced by the previous government in 2022. Rutter claimed that digital identity can make people's lives easier, and unlock billions of
pounds of economic growth. Rutter made sure to address one of the criticisms regarding the security of such schemes -- centralization -- by saying that the system her office is working on does not have a centralized digital database. Currently,
OfDIA is working to create a trusted and secure digital identity market and this work focuses on five areas, starting with developing and maintaining the digital identity and framework, and then being in charge of a register of accredited organizations
that meet the framework's requirements. |
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The latest cinema release to attract BBFC category cuts for a 12A rating
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| 29th October 2024
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MAGNET is a 2024 UK action drama by Larry Bammeke Starring Dion Marcos, Faith Kiggundu and Gerald Maliqi
BBFC category cuts were required for a 12A rated cinema release in 2024.
Summary Notes Follow
Kevin in this British drama - a charismatic and unshakeably confident young lad haunted by an unchangeable past and a future shaped by it. Scarred by his estranged father's abandonment and burdened by a broken mother, he turns to menacing ways far beyond
redemption.
Versions
cut: | | run: | 161:08s | pal: | 154:41s |
| | UK: BBFC 12A rated for violence, threat, language, drug misuse, sexual violence references for violence,
threat, language, drug misuse, sexual violence references after BBFC cuts:
- 2024 World Harvest Christian Centre (TNM Production) cinema release (rated 17/09/2024)
The BBFC commented: The distributor chose to remove a scene of drug misuse in order to achieve their preferred 12A rating. An uncut 15 was available.
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And finding it in draft Australian censorship codes
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| 27th October 2024
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| See article from
theguardian.com |
The Australian internet industry has produced draft censorship rules related to age/ID verification. The schedule is for these to come into force in 2025. One of the rules that has caught the attention is that search engines will be required to
age/ID verify users before links to porn or gambling sites sites can be provided. The draft codes will apply to websites, social media, video games, search engines, gaming companies, app developers and internet service providers, among others. As
is the case in most other countries, the authorities are refusing to specify exactly what age/ID verification mechanisms will be acceptable and will leave it to companies to take enormous commercial risks in guessing what mechanisms will be acceptable.
Examples of options include checking photo ID, facial age estimation, credit card checks, digital ID wallets or systems, or attestation by a parent or guardian. The codes have been developed by the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association
(Amta), the Communications Alliance, the Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association (CESA), the Digital Industry Group Inc. (Digi), and the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA). Dr Jennifer Duxbury, Digi's director for policy,
regulatory affairs, and research, told Guardian Australia that the group doesn't speak for the porn industry, and added: I can't predict what their reaction might be, whether they would withdraw from the market, or what's
the likely outcome.
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Smile is cut for post watershed broadcast
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| 27th October
2024
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| Thanks to Daniel |
Smile is a 2022 US horror mystery thriller by Parker Finn Starring Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher and Kyle Gallner
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient,
a psychiatrist becomes increasingly convinced she is being threatened by an uncanny entity. Thanks to Daniel who comments: Channel 4's screening of Smile on the 19th October was censored.
Despite the fact that the screening started twenty minutes after the watershed and detailed warnings about the content were given just prior, the opening suicide scene was edited to remove a shot of Caitlin Stasey's character
impassively cutting her throat with a shard of broken vase. The scene is crucial in establishing the film's tone early on. There may have been more cuts but I turned it off. I always understood that Channel 4 policy was to screen
films intact after the watershed...guess that's no longer the case. It is worth noting that the subsequent repeat broadcast on 4seven after 10:00pm was uncut. I did query Channel 4 as to why the film's initial broadcast was
censored, and they cited Ofcom guidelines as the reason for the 16 second edit. As the film was shown after the watershed and has an 18 certificate, an uncut screening should have been possible. As Film4 also cut the late night
screening of Lords Of Chaos some time back for images relating to suicide despite the fact that it was also classified uncut at 18, I get the feeling that the cut made to Smile is part of a pattern in which images of suicide are being singled out
specifically. All that said, Channel 4 do deserve a bit of credit for correcting the much lower profile repeat. https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/falling-place
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The BBFC discusses the 15 rating in response to a couple of letters of complaint
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| 27th October 2024
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| See
BBFC meeting minutes [pdf] from darkroom.bbfc.co.uk
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Longlegs is a 2024 Canada/US crime horror thriller by Oz Perkins Starring Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage and Blair Underwood
In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent uncovers a series of
occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree. The BBFC has published minutes of meeting where the classification of Longlegs was discussed as the classification decision had been the subject of two complaints
saying that the film was too strong for a 15 rating. The BBFC explained: [ Spoilers! hover or click text below]
The BBFC classified the film 15 uncut for strong violence, gore, threat, horror and language, first for home entertainment and subsequently for theatrical release. The BBFC received two complaints from members of the
public who believed that the film appeared too strong for 15, with regard to a scene in which the serial killer, Longlegs, repeatedly bashes his head on a table, which is a moment of gore and self-injury that results in his death. The scene had been
discussed in the Compliance meeting on 21 August 2024 with regard to whether it was on the 15/18 borderline due to what may be considered an example of the strongest gory images, which would require an 18. The BBFC's
Classification Guidelines at 15 state with regard to suicide and self-harm that [s]cenes of suicide and self-harm should not be frequent or endorsed. Glamorisation of suicide or self-harm may result in a higher rating. Graphic depictions or detailed
references are unlikely to be permitted. For threat and horror, There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic threat is unlikely to be acceptable. And violence may be strong but there should not be sustained focus on the infliction
of pain or victims suffering. The strongest gory images may occur if justified by context (for example, war, medical detail). Prolonged sadistic violence is unlikely to be acceptable.' The Classifiers were asked to consider the
scene for informational purposes and did so within the context of the film as a whole. They considered that the gore is self-inflicted, by the serial killer character, and that the scene does not show Longlegs' method of taking his own life to be an
attractive solution or one likely to be effective. They noted that the real-world setting strengthens the impact of the scene and that the film has a sustained creepiness but that the film's supernatural and satanic elements provide mitigation. Some
Compliance Officers considered that the more the Longlegs character is seen, the less creepy he appears, and so considered the 15 decision to be correct. The Classifiers agreed that Longlegs had been appropriately placed at the 15 category.
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