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Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)

97. A number of respondents disagreed with Ofcom’s proposal not to conduct an RIA. In the consultation Ofcom said that, as it was working with the consent of stakeholders, it did not believe an RIA was necessary as no detailed plans were being proposed. The purpose of the consultation was to seek stakeholders’ views on possible ways of fostering initiatives for promoting media literacy.

98. BSkyB argued that any Ofcom ‘proposal’ could involve a significant impact upon stakeholders within the meaning of Section 7 of the Communications Act. In particular, it argued that Ofcom’s “decision that a common labelling system is required” should be subject to an RIA.

99. Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) commented that any attempt to force content labelling onto Internet Service Providers would need an RIA. Ofcom would of course give full consideration to the need for an RIA in such a scenario – the consultation was not however proposing to mandate a labelling system.

100. Andrea Millwood-Hargrave and Sonia Livingstone argued that media literacy will have a significant impact upon the general public and that a media literate public will in turn have a significant impact upon businesses operating in the UK.

Ofcom’s response

101. As we indicated in our original consultation, our initiatives in this area (such as proposing that through a cross-media working group consideration be given to a possible scheme for content labelling) are intended to stimulate discussion amongst stakeholders with a view to encouraging adoption by the industry of appropriate measures to bring about and improve media literacy. The consultation was not proposing options for implementation by Ofcom.

102. We acknowledge industry concern that even if a proposal is not for regulatory action, it should be subject to rigorous analysis with full consideration given to the range of options available.

103. However, we do not believe the challenge set to industry to consider creating a common content labelling scheme was sufficiently advanced to constitute a proposal that might merit an RIA.

104. Ofcom continues to strongly support the need for providing viewers and listeners with information about the nature of content so that they can make informed choices about their and their family’s viewing and listening. We invite the industry to take part in a working group on content labelling. This working group will be asked to consider further research into the issue and Ofcom would expect it to give consideration to a variety of different options.

105. We believe that media literacy as a whole will have an impact upon the general public; however, the other areas of work identified by Ofcom, research and connecting, partnering & signposting, are tools that will enable us to understand what further activity is needed to achieve greater media literacy. For example, our research work may well highlight issues or concerns that could require further action, and it is at this stage in our media literacy activity that we will consider whether or not an RIA might be appropriate; at this point however such an assessment would be premature.

Regulation of the internet

106. CHIS (the Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety) commented that,

“implicit in the discussions on the Communications Bill in Parliament, was the notion that, should Ofcom become convinced that the internet industry was failing to make reasonable and timely progress in terms facilitating effective parental controls in relation to internet access, or in terms of developing greater media literacy in relation to the internet among parents, that you [Ofcom] could go back to ask the Secretary of State to give you new powers or directions”.

Ofcom’s response

107. In the Communications Act, Parliament made a clear distinction between broadcast content, which Ofcom is required to regulate, and internet content, over which Ofcom has no remit. The Ofcom Board believes this was the right approach. However, over time and as new technology enables the delivery of broadcast content over Internet Protocol-based networks, the distinction between broadcast content and internet content will blur. The debate has yet to begin – in society, in industry and in Parliament – over the extent to which it would be appropriate and necessary to try to extend the approach taken in regulating broadcast content to content delivered over the internet.

108. Greater self-regulation will undoubtedly play a role: in the online world, the user has far more powerful tools, such as filtering software and parental controls, than are available to the television viewer or radio listener. However, there may also be some specific areas where self-restraint by providers and caveat emptor by the media-literate user - empowered by innovative technology to search and filter content - is not enough. Where those areas might lie - indeed, whether they warrant definition at all - what should be done to address them and what is feasible should all be central to the debate ahead.

Regulation of press online

109. The Newspaper Society (NS), News International (NI) the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) and others expressed concern about the possible regulation by Ofcom of online content that was also published in print (‘online print material’). The NS and PPA were concerned about regulatory creep. NI share this concern but were more explicit in suggesting that any media literacy activity more generally should not encompass their work, stating “we urgently seek a more explicit statement from Ofcom that its work in the area of media literacy will not include the print media in any form either offline or online”.

Ofcom’s response

110. Ofcom has no intention of regulating online content, whether published solely online or previously or simultaneously in print. (see paragraphs 107-108).

111. However, material published online (in the terms set out in Section 11 of the Communications Act 2003), falls within the scope of Ofcom’s duties but no specific activity is proposed in this area.

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