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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, in the Legislative Council today (March 11):
Question:
There have been comments that there are problems with the conduct of quite a number of media organisations in recent years, which have far-reaching impact on the social trend and young people. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows if the number of complaints received by the authorities or the related organisations in the industry about the problems of printed and electronic media organisations' behaviour and conduct, as well as the number of cases of these organisations being penalised for such acts, had been on the rise in the past two years; and whether it had reviewed in the period if the existing measures were adequate for handling these complaints;
(b) given that the dissemination of news and messages via the Internet is becoming more and more popular, whether the authorities have noticed if the situation of some media organisations adopting immoral practices to report and publish contents of messages (including texts, photographs and footages) is getting more and more serious; whether it had issued warnings to or instituted prosecutions against the media organisations concerned in the past two years; and
(c) under the premise of respecting press freedom and protecting intellectual property rights, how the authorities monitor media organisations in exercising self-regulation to refrain from infringing on the intellectual property rights of others?
Reply:
President,
Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are core values, which the HKSAR Government vigorously uphold at all time. They are expressly guaranteed under the Basic Law. Nevertheless, to protect individual sectors, particularly children and other vulnerable groups, different media are subject to different forms of regulation under the law in Hong Kong. Electronic media, mainly television and sound broadcasters, are subject to licensing under the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562) and the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106) respectively. Local printed media, whether newspapers or magazines, are required to be registered under the Registration of Local Newspapers Ordinance (Cap. 268). They are also subject to the general law, e.g. publication of obscene or indecent articles or undesirable medical advertisements, prevention of child pornography, copyright protection, defamation, etc.
In recognition of the responsibility it carries to ensure that the press operates in an appropriate manner at all times, the newspaper sector has founded the Hong Kong Press Council, a self-regulatory body, to deal with public complaints against local newspapers with respect to intrusion of privacy or articles of a prurient, indecent or sensational nature. The Council operates independently and the Government has no role to play in its work.
My replies to the Member's questions are as follows:
(a) Broadcast contents in television and radio are regulated by the Broadcasting Authority (BA) in accordance with the provisions in its relevant Codes of Practice issued under the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562) and the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (Cap. 391), which set out the commonly accepted standards of broadcast contents. Upon receipt of public complaints against contravention of the Codes, the BA will investigate the circumstances leading to the complaints. If the complaints are found substantiated, the BA will impose appropriate sanctions (including financial penalties) against the concerned broadcasting licensees. The BA processed 1,147 and 1,475 complaint cases against broadcasters breaching the Codes in 2007 and 2008, with 67 and 60 cases substantiated respectively. None of these cases are related to the conduct of news reporting by the broadcasters. We have also not detected any trend that complaints were on the rise in the past two years and there is no evidence to suggest that existing measures are inadequate for handling complaints.
Newspapers, magazines and websites fall under the ambit of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (COIAO)(Cap. 390) which regulates the publication of obscene and indecent articles. The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA) is one of the departments responsible for the enforcement of the COIAO. In 2007 and 2008, the TELA received 4,686 and 1,042 complaints against media organisations respectively. After investigation, prosecution action was taken against 16 and 11 cases respectively. The actual number of complaints shows a decline over the past two years. We are currently conducting a review and public consultation on the operation of the COIAO.
According to the information on its website, the Hong Kong Press Council handled 47 complaint cases against newspapers in 2007, and 21 cases from January to November 2008.
(b)&(c) As major content providers, media organisations in Hong Kong should act responsibly and observe the law in the dissemination of news and messages, whether through the printed platform or the Internet. To create a fair and positive business environment conducive to the sustainable development of the creative industry, Hong Kong has an established legal system for the protection of intellectual property rights, including copyright. We review on a regular basis the efficacy of our legislation to ensure that it remains appropriate in present day circumstances. The Customs and Excise Department takes rigorous enforcement actions against breaches of criminal provisions under the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528), with a view to safeguarding the rights of copyright owners including media organisations. Copyright owners are also encouraged to take civil action against the infringers, thereby deterring infringing activities and protecting their own interests.
To raise public awareness of and promote respect for intellectual property rights, the Government rolls out sustained publicity and public education activities. In particular, the Intellectual Property Department has published a booklet entitled "Copyright for Journalists in Hong Kong" for media organisations to help journalists better understand their basic rights and duties.
In the past five years, the Customs and Excise Department has received three complaints against media organisations in respect of alleged copyright infringement acts. Two cases were found unsubstantiated after investigation while the remaining one is under investigation.
Media organisations, as copyright owners, have been taking an active part in promoting respect for intellectual property rights in the community, thus safeguarding the creative works of the intellectual property right owners. We believe that the media industry will comply with the relevant legislation on intellectual property protection, and act in a responsible manner when handling others' copyright works
Ends/Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Issued at HKT 13:16
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