Pubic views sought on review of television and radio codes of practice

The following is issued on behalf of the Communications Authority:

     The Communications Authority (CA) today (July 17) invites members of the public to give their views on proposals for relaxing or updating the codes of practice (CoPs) relating to programme and advertising standards of television and sound broadcasting services. The consultation period will last for one month until August 16.

     The mid-term review of the domestic free television programme service licences and sound broadcasting licences was completed in February 2023. During the consultation process of the mid-term review, the CA received a number of suggestions from the public and the licensees relating to regulation of programme and advertising contents. In response to the views received and with the support of its Broadcast Codes of Practice Committee, the CA has reviewed the CoPs along the general direction of refining the regulatory regime to enable the licensees in meeting the challenges of the rapidly evolving business environment while protecting the interests of the community at large. Following the review, the CA has formulated a set of proposals (see Annex for a summary) for consulting the public. The CA will consider all the views received during the public consultation in taking the proposals forward.

     The consultation document is available on the CA's website (www.coms-auth.hk/filemanager/en/content_711/cp20230717_2.pdf). Members of the public may give their views on the proposals on or before the deadline by email (consultation-cop@ofca.gov.hk), fax (2507 2219) or mail (Office of the Communications Authority, 20/F, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; Attn: Broadcasting Section 23). Late submissions would not be considered.