The prosecutors’ office in Málaga is investigating possible crimes committed by the fortune telling and tarot programmes which fill the TDT television system.

 

The legal process has been opened in Málaga as that is where much of such content is broadcast from. The chief prosecutor in Málaga, Antonio Morales, considers that the broadcasts could be illegal, but admits it is a complex process to indentify who is responsible for the channels. There are a series of possible crimes; firstly the question whether the content could be prejudicial for parts of the audience, children, pensioners or the most vulnerable, secondly the General Audiovisual Communication Law prohibits such ‘esoteric’ contents between 7am and 10pm, and fines of between 100,001 and 500,000 € are envisaged. There is also the question as to whether such programmes are committing fraud, often not telling callers that they are calling premium rate lines, and with some keeping callers waiting for several minutes to push up the cost of the call. The Audiovisual Council in Andalucia, CAA, says that there are 67 channels emitting in the area with a licence, but an additional 64 which have simply invaded the TDT frequencies. They say that 53% of the 64 illegal channels are dedicated round the clock to fortune tellers and spiritualists. The illegal broadcasters take advantage of indifference from the central and regional governments, and also face charges of using a frequency that has not been assigned to them. Central Government says it’s a problem for the regions, but the regions, as is the case of Esperanza Aguirre in Madrid, say the responsibility lies with the Ministry for Industry.