The article is devoted to the minors` protection in audiovisual media sector within the scope of EU documents (soft and hard law) from 1989 – 2012. It concerns both the traditional media sector and new audiovisual services; a new technological environment requires a new approach. It mainly covers the following legal acts and documents: Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by Law, Regulation or Administrative Action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities; its amendments: 97/36/EC, 2007/65/EC, 2010/13/EU; European Commission (1984) `Green Paper on Television Without Frontiers’,COM (84) 300 final; Council Recommendation 98/560/EC of 24 September 1998 on the development of the competitiveness of the European audiovisual and information services industry by promoting national frameworks aimed at achieving a comparable and effective level of protection of minors and human dignity, Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on the protection of minors and human dignity and on the right of reply in relation to the competitiveness of the European audiovisual and on-line information services industry (2006/952/EC).The article consists of four parts. First regards the audiovisual sector from communication perspective; it concerns also the comprehensive impact of political and social conditions on the children`s protection in the sector, including a dual structure of audiovisual services (both economic and cultural). Second part discusses the early documents: directives (1989, 1997), green paper (1996), recommendations (1998, 2006), as some kind of introduction to the contemporary system. Third is mainly devoted to the current legal provisions, included in directives (2007, 2010). All of European recommendations ale directed to the Member States, representatives of audiovisual industry and other parties concerned (as non – governmental organizations) as well as particular groups of individuals as parents, teachers and minors. Fourth part includes some conclusions and recommendations concerning the main issues of the minors` protection: 1) the problem of a definition of illegal content and availability of harmful content in connection with new platforms, 2) measures taken to protect the physical, mental and moral development of minors (access restrictions) – a) legal and self-regulation, co-regulation, b) age classification, content descriptions (labeling), c) filtering systems; c) the importance of media education system.