The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found free-to-air channel Racing.com in breach of election rules after broadcasting ads during the election blackout period earlier this year.
The communications watchdog found that the channel ran 23 ads for Liberal MP Dan Tehan on the Thursday before the federal election on May 3. Under electoral law, broadcasters are prohibited from airing political advertising on TV or radio between the Wednesday before polling day and the close of polls.
ACMA has confirmed that there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Tehan, but instead the responsibility lies with the channel’s licensee, Prime Television Victoria, which is owned by the Seven Network.
ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said the rules were not optional.
“These rules are licence conditions applying to commercial television broadcasting licensees under the Broadcasting Services Act. They have been in place for many years. We expect that broadcasters should understand their statutory obligations and be focused on compliance”.
Prime Television has since reviewed its internal procedures to ensure the problem does not arise again in further elections.
Tehan was facing a high-profile challenge in his Victorian seat of Wannon from former radio host turned independent Alex Dyson, who attracted more than $2 million in donations. Tehan ended up winning the race with a 0.6 per cent swing to secure 43.6 per cent of the vote in the Wannon electorate.
Earlier this year, TV networks joined together with FreeTV to demand a review of the “outdated” blackout rules that are exepmpt to a numnber of other mediums including Facebook, Google and print.
The “blackout” rules have been in place for over twenty years, yet many TV broadcasters are arguing they are outdated now that Australians are increasingly spending more time on social media.
Free TV CEO Bridget Fair, at the time, called the blackout a “relic of the 1980s” that is “completely out of step with today’s media landscape”.
“It’s absurd that broadcasters are banned from airing political ads in the final days before an election, while unregulated digital platforms are free to flood voters with content right up to – and including – polling day,” said Fair.
“By election day, close to half of all Australians will have already voted – many after seeing political ads online and on TV. Yet, come polling day, the only place you won’t find a political ad is on television or radio. That’s not just outdated – it’s illogical”.
“This is a clear case of regulation failing to keep up with technology,” Bridget Fair said. “It creates an uneven playing field that harms Australian media businesses who spend more than $400 million a year on news and current affairs funded by advertising”.
“Multiple government reviews over the past decade have recommended reform – it’s time to act. The blackout no longer serves its original purpose and only penalises the most transparent and accountable media providers in the country”.
The election blackout was put in place to limit political groups from making last-minute, untested claims and to stop swaying votes from making last-minute changes based on an ad.
