EUROVISION CHANGES PRIVACY RULE

Story from BBC NEWS:
ainment/8263437.stm

Eurovision Song Contest organisers say they may ban countries from
the competition if broadcasters disclose information about voters’
identities.

It comes after a number of people in Azerbaijan were questioned by
police after voting for a song by neighbouring Armenia in the this
year’s contest.

Phone companied had been responsible for protecting voters’ details,
but now broadcasters will shoulder the burden.

If a broadcaster is sanctioned, their country will be banned for
three years.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said the rule change was to
ensure the protection of voters’ privacy.

Last month, an Azerbaijani man told the BBC he had been accused of
being unpatriotic and a "potential security threat", after he sent
a text backing Armenia’s song, Jan Jan.

‘Totally unacceptable’

The country’s authorities said people had merely been invited to
explain why they voted for Armenia.

The two states fought over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in
the 1990s.

The EBU’s director general, Jean Reveillon, said violating the privacy
of voters "or interrogation of individuals… is totally unacceptable".

As it does not have the ability to penalise telephone companies,
the body said it would impose sanctions against broadcasters "for
any disclosure of information which could be used to identify voters".

Banning a broadcaster would effectively stop a country from being
able to take part.

Norway’s Alexander Rybak won the contest this year, smashing the
record for the most points awarded during the competition with 387.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress