The UK looks set to depart again from EU rules – this time in favour of a more prescriptive approach
As the market changes, regulation needs to get up to speed: The UK Government is consulting on new rules to level the playing field between traditional linear broadcasters and VoD services. For the first time, audience protection rules would apply to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ in the same way as they have historically applied to linear TV channels. Up until now, some regulation has only applied to audiences under 18 years of age. The recent shift towards VoD, with 75% of UK households now using these services, is giving the Government a mandate for intervention.
The new rules could be more prescriptive than the existing EU Directive: The Government has highlighted that leaving the EU now gives it an opportunity to set standards beyond the minimum ones of the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). This suggests that the new rules will be more prescriptive than the AVMSD, which largely leaves VoD platforms to set their own measures to tackle content inciting violence, hatred, and terrorism. The Government has already said it wants to introduce protection from harms such as disinformation or misleading advice. For this to happen, the consultation will seek input on whether mainstream VoD services (which are currently outside of Ofcom’s remit) should be brought within UK jurisdiction. At the same time, the Government wants to leave small or niche services out of scope to ensure intervention is proportionate, and that essential protections like freedom of speech are not affected.
Major changes could be coming for the whole broadcasting sector: The consultation on VoD regulation is part of the preparatory work for the upcoming White Paper into the future of broadcasting, which the Government wants to bring forward during the Autumn. It will discuss the future of Channel 4 (on which a consultation is running until 14 September) and the future of public service broadcasting (essentially the BBC). In this area, it will likely recommend radical changes to the current model, taking into account the Government’s own strategic review of PSB and Ofcom’s review of 2020 which called for a shakeup to ensure PSB adapts to the online world.
