Communications Act 2003

All you want to know about Communications Act 2003

The Communications Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 2003 c. 21). It gave regulation body Ofcom its full powers. Among other measures, it introduced legal recognition of Community Radio and paved the way for full-time Community Radio services in the UK, and more controversially lifted many restrictions on cross-media ownership. It also made it illegal to use other people's wifi broadband connections without their permission.^[1]

The legislation also allowed for the first time non-European entities to wholly own a British television company.^[2]^[3]

References

^ "Man arrested over wi-fi 'theft'", BBC (22 August 2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-22. "Dishonestly obtaining free internet access is an offence under the Communications Act 2003 and a potential breach of the Computer Misuse Act."
^ UK Office of Communications [4.4.1] | ICT Regulation Toolkit
^ Department for Culture Media and Sport - media ownership

External links

Communications Act 2003 (2003 c. 21): full text of the act
Communications Act 2003: website created by the Department of Trade and Industry to explain the act
Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
Wireless hijacking under scrutiny: "A recent court case, which saw a West London man fined £500 and sentenced to 12 months' conditional discharge for hijacking a wireless broadband connection, has repercussions for almost every user of wi-fi networks. ... Gaining unauthorised access to a computer is an offence covered by the Computer Misuse Act. In Straszkiewcz's case, he was prosecuted under the Communications Act and found guilty of dishonestly obtaining an electronic communications service."

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