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This paper aims to examine the challenges raised by hybrid advertising strategies for principles of identification and separation, included in various regulatory instruments, and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) in particular.

First, this paper describes two examples of hybrid (television) advertising formats, with a potential interconnection between editorial and commercial content, such as advertorials and commercial overlays. This section is followed by an analysis of the origins and key elements of the identification and separation principle. Next, the implementation in legislation of Belgium (Flanders region), The Netherlands and the UK, and decisions of media regulators in those countries are explored to assess how the principles are interpreted in practice. Finally, the authors identify the concrete challenges that these formats raise and frame those against the background of European policy developments.

The analysis shows that the current interpretation of the identification and separation principles conflicts with the inherently integrated features of hybrid advertising formats, especially commercial overlays. To remedy this, the authors propose strengthening the identification principle, for instance, by developing cross-media labels and framing this within a co-regulatory framework where advertisers and media service providers take up their responsibility to respect fundamental principles and protect less cognitively skilled consumers, such as children.

This paper aims to contribute to the current re-thinking of the legal framework with regard to new commercial communication techniques, convergence and public interest goals. This can be framed against the background of the revision of the AVMSD and the Digital Single Market Strategy.

This article seeks to analyze the initiative of the European Commission that studied the feasibility of measures that would lead significant market players to license their interoperability information under the Digital Agenda.

The significance of the abuse of dominance regime and the electronic communications framework in ensuring access to interoperability information in the ICT sector is studied by way of analyzing legislation and case law. Against the background of these two existing regulatory regimes, the proposals that the Commission made in its recently published Staff Working Document are evaluated.

The Microsoft case illustrates that the abuse of dominance regime under European competition law is not very effective to remedy interoperability issues in a structural way. An ex ante regime will enable the ICT industry to reap the full benefits of interoperability on a broader scale. Since the Commission's initiative seems to target interoperability among software products, the electronic communications regime is not applicable. A new regulatory regime should therefore be established. As the desirability of a mandatory regime can be questioned, the adoption of soft law measures seems to be the preferred option.

By putting the initiative of the Commission to examine measures that promote access to interoperability information under the Digital Agenda into its broader regulatory context, the article contributes to the discussion on the possible ways to ensure interoperability in the ICT sector.

Audiovisual works – especially cinematographic works – are at the heart of the changes resulting from the development of the information society. Media convergence radically changed the way traditional audiovisual content is produced, distributed, consumed and eventually archived. Film producers slowly started to experiment with new ways of digital production such as the shortening of release windows to favor new on demand services. How does this translate to European film policy? Due to the unique double nature of cinematographic works which are both economic and cultural goods at the same time, the European film policy is at the crossing point of media, culture, competition and heritage. This paper seeks to address these issues.

In this research paper the authors assessed to what extent the adoption of digital technologies is stimulated throughout the value chain of film making and more precisely to what degree the distribution of a European culturally diverse catalogue of films is encouraged.

For the first time in history, European producers have the tools at their disposal to collaborate, promote and distribute internationally, at lower transaction costs and at a higher speed, and to look beyond their national market. The fast‐evolving technological developments provided the European legislator with the opportunity to strengthen and support the promotion of the European cultural identity in all its diversity. But is this also reflected in the current legislative framework? It is clear that different hurdles still need to be tackled.

In this research paper an overview is given of the regulatory steps that have been taken so far in the field of European film policy to stimulate the digital production and distribution of European film productions. In the context of new unfolding alliances between stakeholders and experiments with premium video‐on‐demand or shorter cinema release windows, the relevance of digital production and distribution schemes can no longer be neglected. The emergence of web‐based services including cloud computing is likely to accelerate this trend.

When using information communication technology (ICT) devices it is easy to be trapped by purely the purpose of their design, how they are marketed, product reviews and noting, or even copying, the behaviour of the younger, Net Generation. The purpose of this column is to argue for encouraging all to contribute to deepening our understanding of fully exploiting technology. This includes encouraging people who may be less techno‐savvy but with a richer life‐world and life‐experience to share their use of devices such as tablets, and to allow all to benefit from the idiosyncrasy in use that should be aimed at a life‐fit with personality, learning style, preferences, etc., and widening information spaces and information horizons.

The column is written against the background of research from information behaviour, and the learning sciences (especially andragogics).

There are many reasons to explore more than the obvious ways in which ICT devices such as tablets can be used, and for encouraging a spectrum of users to share the idiosyncrasies in their use thereof. Library and information (LIS) services should move from merely teaching people information literacy and ICT skills to creating grounds for sharing practices and experiences in using devices such as tablets. The focus should move to exploiting the benefit of exploring idiosyncrasies in ICT use and how to encourage people to reflect their life‐world and life‐experience in their use of ICT devices such as tablets to widen their (and our) information spaces and information horizons.

Although much has been published on ICT in the library and information science literature and more recently in relation to the Net Generation, the author is not aware of publications exploiting idiosyncrasy and the value that can be added by considering the life‐world and life‐experience of people in their choices in using ICT devices such as tablets. This paper sets the background for further reflection.