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Resolution 2001 (2014) Final version
Violence in and through the media
1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes
that the media play a major role in the daily life of modern societies. In
this context, it is alarming that incidents of extreme violence
have been perpetrated by individuals who have had intensive prior
exposure to violence in the media. It is therefore of utmost importance
for democratic societies to address this correlation appropriately.
2. Over the last decade, the media landscape has changed due,
in particular, to the enormous growth of the Internet and online
media. These media, and a convergence of traditional media with
online social networks with user-to-user content, have created new
forms of media violence which they disseminate. Existing policies and
regulations regarding media violence therefore face challenges both
legally and in practical terms.
3. Violence in and through the media can take different forms,
ranging from the implied or verbal to the depiction of psychological
or physical violence, including sexual violence. Such violence can
be targeted at fictional characters or human beings, with the distinction
between the two categories being blurred by technological advances
in computer-animated images. The interactivity of computer games,
Internet tools (social networks, chat rooms, search engines, online
shopping, and so on) and the universal accessibility of those media
(via “smartphones”) create numerous possibilities for users to actively
steer the violence found in and conveyed through the media, and
to identify with it.
4. Because they are very active in certain new media, children
(up to the age of 18) are especially exposed to the new forms of
violence found in and conveyed through the media, and to all the
attendant risks; their situation therefore deserves particular attention.
5. A particularly serious aspect of these developments is media
incitement to violence, namely the advocacy of violent behaviour
through a media product or service. Cyber-bullying is a form of
interpersonal aggression which uses the Internet and mobile phones
as weapons, but may be a consequence of incitement to violence through
the media. Together with other contributory factors, such aggression
might also lead to self-harm or suicide.
6. The perception of violence may differ among individuals and
societies and may evolve over time, but it is generally recognised
in Europe that freedom of expression and information under Article
10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) applies
neither to child pornography nor to hate speech. Child pornography
and child abuse images as serious violations of children’s rights
have been covered by the Assembly in its work leading to Resolution 1834 (2011) and Recommendation 1980 (2011) on
combating “child abuse images” through committed, transversal and
internationally co-ordinated action. Violence may also be insidiously
conveyed through the media, for example in the depiction of the
hyper-sexualisation of children.
7. In order to address media violence effectively, all stakeholders
need to recognise and assume their respective responsibilities and
to be aware of the particular vulnerability of children in this
sphere. States have the obligation to combat illegal forms of media
violence, to protect minors against the harmful effects of media violence
and to ensure access of users to information about the violence
of a media service or product. The producers, and in particular
commercial producers, of media with violent content bear editorial
and commercial responsibility. Users, as well as parents of young
users, are also responsible for such use.
8. While it is difficult to prove a direct causality between
the exposure of a person to a violent media service or product and
a subsequent act of aggression or violence by that person, the general
impact of media violence on the behaviour of individuals and societies
as a whole cannot be denied. Commercial producers of violent media
content bear a social responsibility for combating violence in society.
Strict licensing requirements, higher transparency obligations or
dissuasive fiscal measures may therefore be appropriate under these circumstances.
9. Measures applied by public authorities against media violence
need to be prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society.
They must not be used to curb political opposition or otherwise
violate the right to freedom of expression and information under
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. News and
current affairs media need to report on acts of violence, but should
respect the rights of victims depicted in such media, as well as
the rights of children viewing them.
10. Consequently, convinced that governments, national parliaments
and media service providers have a responsibility to combat violence
in the media, the Assembly asks them to take the following measures:
10.1. any incitement to violence through
the media shall be prohibited by law in accordance with Article 20
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the
direct use of media in order to inflict psychological violence upon
others, such as through cyber-bullying, should be prohibited by
law;
10.2. the production, public display, sale and possession of
media with gratuitous violence which violates human dignity shall
be punishable by law; human dignity is at stake if a human being
is prominently portrayed in a dehumanised way as a legitimate object
of explicit and gratuitous physical, psychological or sexual violence
and suffering;
10.3. the production, public display and sale of media whose
violent content is likely to impair the physical, mental or moral
development of children and adolescents shall be restricted under
the domestic law of member States; national regulations shall take
due account of the fact that the access to such media content requires
prior age verification of users;
10.4. those who produce media in which violence plays a central
part should be obliged by law to indicate publicly the type, level
and quantity of violence of such media; authors of violent media
content should identify themselves or be traceable through the editors
of media or the providers of media services or products, unless
the latter bear legal responsibility for such content;
10.5. the providers of media services or products (such as broadcasters,
Internet access or service providers, providers of mobile telecommunications
media as well as sellers of videos, games or print media) must ensure
that all media services or products which are knowingly made accessible
through them indicate publicly the level and type of violence they
contain, particularly if violence is a central part of the content;
10.6. the providers of media services or products should be
required to provide hotlines or other public complaint mechanisms,
which can be used if difficulties are experienced with violent media
content or violence through the media. Such complaint mechanisms
should be complemented by a code of conduct regarding media violence,
which includes content rating and access restrictions, as well as
co-operation with law-enforcement authorities in cases of potentially
illegal content;
10.7. the producers of media reception devices (such as television
sets, video players, mobile audiovisual communication devices, personal
computers or smart phones) should be encouraged to provide built-in
or free-of-charge add-on technical equipment to filter violent content
in accordance with standardised indicators of such content; parents
should be made aware of the availability of such filtering for the
protection of their children; for this purpose, user-friendly manuals,
made available free of charge upon request, should contain relevant
information and guidance.
11. The Assembly recommends that member States:
11.1. devise and implement national
programmes to raise awareness both of violence and of media skills
for people who work with children, for families and for children
themselves;
11.2. create, in co-operation with media companies and media
professionals, organisations which rate media violence, develop
measures for protection against media violence and monitor compliance
with such measures; where such organisations do not exist, the public
regulatory authorities of member States should have such competences;
11.3. criminalise the production, distribution and possession
of violent and extreme pornography, in particular where images of
violence and aggression towards children are concerned;
11.4. provide education about media violence in school curricula
and in teacher training programmes.
12. The Assembly invites:
12.1. media
professionals to develop, through their professional organisations,
a code of conduct for journalists, photographers and editors dealing
with violent media content;
12.2. the European Broadcasting Union and the Association of
Commercial Television in Europe to fully address the problem of
media violence in the context of connected television, that is television
sets with Internet access.