Norwegian Media Authority

The Norwegian Media Authority (Norwegian: Medietilsynet) is a Norwegian administrative agency under the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs charged with various tasks relating to broadcasting, newspapers and films.

Norwegian Media Authority
Government agency
IndustryAuthority
Founded1 January 2005
HeadquartersFredrikstad, Norway
Area served
Norway
Key people
Mari Velsand (Director)
ParentNorwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs
Websitemedietilsynet.no

The Authority's tasks include

  • rating movies
  • enforcing rules on content, advertising and sponsorship for broadcast media; handling license applications for local broadcast media
  • handling applications for newspaper production grants, including non-leading newspapers, minority language newspapers and Sami newspapers
  • overseeing and intervening against the acquisition of media ownership (either prohibiting the acquisition or merger, or allowing an acquisition on such conditions as the Authority sets, including ordering the divestment of other media ownership interests.

History

The agency was established 1 January 2005 by merging three government agencies:

  • Norwegian Board of Film Classification (Statens filmtilsyn), which was in charge of rating movies.
  • Norwegian Media Ownership Authority (Eierskapstilsynet), which oversaw media ownership.
  • Mass Media Authority (Statens medieforvaltning, SMF), which had tasks related to broadcasting and newspapers.

The new authority was located in Fredrikstad from 20 March 2006, where the Mass Media Authority already was located, but in a new building.

In 2003, the agency was moved from Oslo to Fredrikstad from 20 March 2006, where the Mass Media Authority had been located. This was a program along with six other directorates and inspectorates which were move out of Oslo, which had been initialized by Victor Norman, Minister of Government Administration and Reform of the Conservative Party. It cost 729 million Norwegian krone (NOK) to move the seven agencies. An official report from 2009 concluded that the agencies had lost 75 to 90% of their employees, mostly those with long seniority, and that for a while critical functions for society were dysfunctional. No costs reductions had been made, there was no significant impact on the target area, and there was little impact on the communication between the agencies and the ministries. In a 2010 report, Professor Jarle Trondal concluded that none of the agencies had become more independent after the move, despite this being one of the main arguments from the minister. Norman successor, Heidi Grande Røys of the Socialist Left Party, stated that the moving had had an important symbolic effect on the target areas, and that she did not see the lack of advantages as a reason to not move similar agencies later.[1][2]

Rating system

Current ratings
RatingDescriptionYear implementedRemarks
AAllowed for all ages1994Replaces the 5 rating
6Allowed for anyone 6 years and older. Children below 6 years old can watch it in movie theaters if accompanied by an adult2015Replaces the 7 rating
9Allowed for anyone 9 years and older. Children down to 6 years old can watch it in movie theaters if accompanied by an adult2015Replaces the 11 rating along with the re-implemented 12 rating.
12Allowed for anyone 12 years and older. Children down to 9 years old can watch it in movie theaters if accompanied by an adult1954Abolished in 1994 and replaced by the 11-rating, but was re-implemented in 2015 as a replacement to the 11-rating
15Allowed for anyone 15 years and older. Children down to 12 years old can watch it in movie theaters if accompanied by an adult1988Replaces the 16 rating
18Allowed for anyone 18 years and older. Absolute lower limit. In theaters, everyone who is present must be at least 18 years old1970Also applied to motion pictures that are to be presented in theaters, but are not submitted for classification by the NMA.

Former ratings
RatingDescriptionImplementedAbolishedRemarks
5Allowed for anyone 5 years and older. Absolute lower limit19701994Replaced by A-rating
7Allowed for anyone 7 years and older. Children below 4 years old can watch it in movie theaters if accompanied by an adult19542015Replaced by 6-rating
10Allowed for anyone 10 years and older. Children below 5 years old can watch it in movie theaters if accompanied by an adult19881994Replaced by 11-rating
11Allowed for anyone 11 years and older. Children below 7 years old can watch it in movie theaters if accompanied by an adult19942015Replaced by 9 and 12-ratings
16Allowed for anyone 16 years and older.19211988Replaced by 15-rating
BannedNot permitted for theatrical release19132004Only partially abolished. Classification is still mandatory for films to be presented to an audience below the age of 18. The NMA cannot register or classify films they consider contravene Norwegian criminal law.

Prohibited content

From 2004, classification of films to be viewed to persons aged 18 or more were no longer required. If a distributor choose to register a film without classification, the film distributor will be criminally responsible if the film has content prohibited by Norwegian law.

Contents that are prohibited in films and other entertainment media in Norway are:

  • Child pornography
  • Pornography (with exceptions)
  • improper use of grave depictions of violence for entertainment purposes.

References
  1. "Svekket av flytting" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 17 June 2009. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  2. "Flytting av tilsyn ut av Oslo ga null effekt" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
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