7 NEWSFEED Updates & Upgrades
CHANGES TO BBC IPLAYER
NOT OK, COMPUTER
Radiohead have released a vast collection of unreleased tracks made during the recording sessions for their 1997 album OK Computer , after a minidisc archive owned by frontman Thom Yorke was hacked. The hacker reportedly asked for a $150,000 ransom to return the recordings. The band counteracted by making the 18 minidisc recordings available to purchase on Bandcamp for £18, or about $23, with all proceeds benefitting the climate change advocacy group, Extinction Rebellion. The band’s guitarist, Johnny Greenwood, confirmed the hack on social media and said “instead of complaining – much – or ignoring it, we’re releasing all 18 hours on Bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion. Just for the next 18 days. So, for £18 you can find out if we should have paid that ransom.” Greenwood said the minidiscs were “never intended for public consumption (though some clips did reach the cassette in the OK Computer reissue) it’s only tangentially interesting. And very, very long... Rainy out, isn’t it though?”
The BBC will be allowed to keep programmes on its iPlayer service for up to a year after first broadcast, rather than the current 30 days. The media regulator, Ofcom, approved the change provisionally, saying it would “increase choice
and availability of public service broadcast content, and help ensure the BBC remains relevant in the face of changing viewing habits.” The BBC has previously voiced fears about its future with the growth of streaming services. It states younger
audiences, used to watching programmes on Netflix, struggled to understand why shows would disappear from the iPlayer after a few weeks. The availability of individual programmes on iPlayer may rely on negotiations with the independent production companies that make shows for the BBC. But many BBC programmes are likely to transfer to Britbox after 12 months, which will require an additional subscription fee. Ofcom says the change will hit other UK catch-up TV services supported by advertising, but that it was pertinent to start with the BBC and promote British public service broadcasting in the face of challenges from US companies.
UK ADULT CONTENT IN LIMBO
The deployment of the UK’s age verification system for online pornography will be delayed a further six months, because the government failed to inform the EU about the plan. The policy, which will require users wanting to access pornographic websites to prove they are aged 18 or over by providing identification, was due to launch on 15 July. DCMS’s culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, confirmed the postponement, owing to failure to comply with how statutory instruments are
passed in European law. “In autumn last year, we laid three instruments before the house. One of them set out standards that companies need to comply with. This should have been notified to the European Commission, and it was not. This will result in a delay in the region of six months,” said Wright. Wright apologised for the delay and emphasised it did not mean the government was backing down from its policy: “age verification needs to happen, and in the interest of the needs of children, it must.”
There has been confusion about how it will be enforced, with suggestions that websites could ask users to upload scans of their passports or driving licences or use age-verification cards sold by newsagents dubbed “porn passes”. Critics also say that some users may find it easy to bypass the restriction or could turn to pornographic websites not covered by the law, which accepts platforms that host pornographic content, but do not do so on a commercial basis.
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