Vice wins appeal on ATVOD ruling

Youth-focused media outfit Vice UK has won an appeal against a determination by ATVOD that the Vice (Video) section of its website was subject to regulation by the UK video-on-demand regulator.

Vice secured its case by presenting evidence to Ofcom, which ATVOD said was not available at the time of its ruling, that its parent company, Vice Media, held editorial responsibility for the video website. Ofcom concluded that the provider was not within the jurisdiction of the UK and did not meet the statutory requirements that would have put in ATVOD’s jurisdiction.

ATVOD CEO Pete Johnson said the regulator would “consider the appeal decision carefully and analyse the implications for future decisions as to whether a particular service is, or is not, subject to regulations designed to protect consumers”.