Ofcom warns News Corp over duties as broadcaster
LONDON | Wed Jul 6, 2011 8:38am EDT
(Reuters) - Britain's media regulator said on Wednesday it was monitoring allegations of hacking at one of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers as it has a duty to assess whether proprietors are "fit and proper" to hold a broadcasting license.
Murdoch's News Corp is currently seeking to buy the 61 percent of pay-TV group BSkyB it does not already own.
"In the light of the current public debate about phone hacking and other allegations, Ofcom confirms that it has a duty to be satisfied on an ongoing basis that the holder of a broadcasting license is 'fit and proper'," it said in a statement.
"It is clearly not for Ofcom to investigate matters which properly lie in the hands of the police and the courts, however we are closely monitoring the situation and in particular the investigations by the relevant authorities into the alleged unlawful activities."
Ofcom oversees Britain's broadcasting industry.
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Paul Hoskins)
Credit: Reuters (www.reuters.com)
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