Amending Decision No 220/2011 of the National Audiovisual Council on the Code for the regulation of audiovisual content
Issuer: Consiliul National al Audiovizualului
Published in: The Official Gazette No 179 of 1 April 2013

Having regard to Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive),
Whereas the measures taken to protect the physical, mental and moral development of minors must be carefully balanced with the fundamental right to freedom of expression as laid down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
Whereas only limit the access of minors to content that is appropriate for their age requires, on the one hand, content classification according to the age of the child and, on the other hand, technical systems for parental control, efficient and user-friendly
Bearing in mind that parental control systems made available to subscribers on digital networks shall ensure an adequate level of protection of minors,
Pursuant to Articles 10 (3) (e), 17 (1) (d) and Article 39 of the Broadcasting Act No 504/2002, as amended,

The National Audiovisual Council has adopted the following decision:

Article I
The National Audiovisual Council Decision No 220/2011 on the Code for the regulation of audiovisual content, published in Official Gazette of Romania Part I No 174 of 11 March 2011, as amended, shall be amended and supplemented as follows:
1. After Article 7, is inserted a new article Article 7 ^ 1, worded as follows:
“Article 1 ^ 7
(1) News reports on violence in educational institutions will be disseminated only together with the school’s management point of view and with the consent of the parents’ or of the legal representatives of the minor; excluding the situation where the broadcaster shall act in the best interest of the minor, without prejudicing the public face of the minor or the minor’s right to intimate, family and private life.
(2) Images in which minors are involved in violence or sexual implicitly or explicitly, of any kind, will be disseminated only if:
a) there is a justified public interest;
b) the broadcaster is acting in the best interest of the minor, with the consent of parents or their legal representatives;
c) the broadcaster shall ensure that there is no indication which could lead to the identification of the minors involved.
(3) The address of the website where such images are posted will not be communicated and neither will there be made references to websites in which such addresses are communicate.”
2. In Article 14, after paragraph (1), a new paragraph (1 ^ 1) will be inserted which provides as follows:
“(1 ^ 1) Any type of TV reality show devised, whose scenario is based on actual facts or situations of individuals, but containing elements of fiction, shall be marked, at the start and the end of the programme, and when the program resumes after advertising breaks, thus: ”<> displayed legibly, with a size of at least 30 points in SD format, standard definition, i.e. 60 in HD, high definition, and with a minimum duration of 10 seconds.
3. Article 18 shall be amended to read as follows:
“Article 18
The following types of productions may not be broadcast between 6,00 and 23,00:
a) repeated physical, mental or language violence;
b) scenes showing sex, obscene language or behaviour;
c) persons in degrading situations;
d) fighting scenes not covered by national or international sports federations.”
4. Article 24 (1) shall be amended to read as follows:
“Article 24
Programmes rated “15” shall only be broadcast between 23,00 and 6,00 a.m. and shall be accompanied at all times by a warning sign representing a circle white and inside it, on a transparent background, white number “15”; exceptions to the mentioned time lapse shall apply to artistic films, series and documentaries classified “15”, for which the allowed broadcasting time is 22,00-6,00.”
5. Article 25 (1) shall be amended to read as follows:
“Article 25
(1) Programmes rated “18” shall only be broadcast between 1,00a.m. and 6,00 a.m. and will be accompanied at all times by a warning sign representing a circle white and inside it, on a transparent background, number “18” white.’
6. Article 27 shall be amended to read as follows:
“Article 27
(1) Programmes rated 18 + may not be broadcast by audiovisual media service providers under Romanian jurisdiction.
(2) 18 + programme services of broadcasters under the jurisdiction of the Member States of the European Union may be included in the offer distributors of services, if the following conditions are met:
a) they are encrypted and are retransmitted within special optional packages for adults, available only in 1,00 a.m. -5,00 p.m. in the event of analogue;
b) encrypted and restricted by means of a parental guidance system in case of digital retransmission.
(3) Services laid down in paragraph (2) may be marketed only at the request of the subscriber, in packages containing only such programmes and unconditional purchase of other package.
(4) Packages comprising 18 + programmes may not be marketed under more advantageous conditions than the bundled services which do not contain such programmes.
(5) The parental control system referred to in paragraph (2) (b) shall provide restricted access to such programmes 18 + thus:
a) access shall be possible only on the basis of a personal code, specifically dedicated to restrict these programmes consisting of at least 4 digits; The figures must not be visible on the screen when made; At first entry into service of 18 +, the programmes decoder must be initially blocked;
b) access to be locked again each time the viewing situation has changed, such as switching to another program, switching TV to stand-by mode or the change of the decoder or of the access card, after TV is reconnected to electric supply source.
(6) At the time of switching on the reception system, the service distributor is required to establish, together with the subscriber, the access code referred to in paragraph (5) (a); It is recommended to avoid code <<1234>or establishing a code composed of the same figure.
(7) In the manual, the service distributor must explain, in simple and clear terms, the operation of the system of parental control, the need to establish access code and to keep its secrecy.”
7. After Article 27, insert a new article Article 27 ^ 1, worded as follows:
“Article 1 ^ 27
Audiovisual programmes classified > .”<<12>or 15>> may be rebroadcast during the time lapse 6,00-20,00 only if they are edited so as to meet the conditions for broadcasting programmes accessible to all categories of public or fot PA, being classified as such.”
8. Article 29 (2) shall be amended to read as follows:
“(2) Before broadcasting shocking images of scenes of violence or which have a negative emotional impact which may negatively impress viewers, they will be given warning verbal: < < Caution!Images which may emotionally affect viewers!. > >, which will be displayed static and legibly. Broadcasters may not present scenes of violence repeatedly within the same audiovisual production.”
9. After Article 75, insert a new article Article 75 ^ 1, worded as follows:
“Article 1 ^ 75
(1) Broadcasters will ensure that in reports of accidents should not be distributed any indication that could lead to the victims identification, unless the victims or their family agreed or where there is prevailing justified public interest.
(2) In the case of accidents, particularly those with legal consequences, the broadcast information shall:
a) be objective, verified and presented in an unbiased manner and in good faith, in relation to all persons involved in the accident;
b) comply with the principle of the presumption of innocence;
c) be complete, monitoring developments in legal approach.”
Article II
This Decision shall be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.

President of the National Audiovisual Council,
Laura Georgescu

Bucharest, 28 March 2013.
No. 141.