The European Commission has clarified new media regulations, passed last week, that pertain to some new media but not all. The Audio-Visual Media Services directive (AVMS) makes the first ever distinction between linear media (conventional TV) and non-linear media (on-demand TV), adding some rudimentary new rules for video-demand but leaving the web essentially untouched.

Asked if either of the definitions extend to the likes of YouTube or Joost, Martin Selmayr, a European Commission spokesperson responsible for information society and media matters, told paidContent.org:  “Everything else that you have been reading on this (over-regulation of the internet) was a (deliberately misleading) lobbying campaign that had nothing to do with the proposals on the table. The services YouTube currently offers, as repeatedly said, do not fall under the definition of a linear or non-linear audiovisual service, as these are not TV- or TV-like programs. The directive covers only audiovisual media services. This would change only if YouTube would offer TV- or TV-like services via the internet.”

• EU Broadcasting Directive Extends Rules To On-Demand, Web Escapes