Digital Minister has today signed the
commencement order for the Digital Economy Act 2017 which
achieved Royal Assent in April. The Act places the consumer at
its heart and will be a vital piece of legislation in making sure
the rights and interests of the individual are protected and
strengthened in an increasingly digital society.
Following the signing of the commencement order today, work will
now begin on the following areas:
- introducing a new age verification process for accessing
online pornography, expected to be in place by April 2018, a
milestone in the Government’s work to make the UK the safest
place in the world for children to be online
- requiring catch-up TV and video on demand services to provide
subtitling and audio description on their programmes - this will
bring regulations for catch-up TV into line with traditional
viewing. It is simply not right that people with hearing or sight
disabilities have to put up with a second-class service for
watching TV and films on demand
- cracking down on ticket touts by making it a criminal offence
for those that misuse bot technology to sweep up tickets and sell
them at inflated prices in the secondary market
- measures to improve digital connectivity for consumers right
across the UK, cutting the costs for new infrastructure and
simplifying planning rules which will see greater coverage in
some of the hardest to reach places in the UK
Minister of State for Digital, said:
“The Digital Economy Act is about building a strong, safe and
connected economy. It will secure better support for consumers,
better protection for children on the Internet, and underpin a
radical transformation of government services.”
A number of important provisions in the Act have already come
into force. These include powers to:
- implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO)
to give people the right to request an affordable broadband
connection, at a minimum speed, from a designated provider, up to
a reasonable cost threshold
- give consumers and businesses better information about
communication services, easier switching and automatic
compensation if things go wrong
- better protect citizens from nuisance calls
UK Music chief executive said:
UK Music is pleased that the Government is responding to calls
for action from the music industry. The use of ‘bots’ to
bulk-buy tickets amounts to industrial-scale touting and
deprives fans of the chance to see their favourite acts. Huge
profits are made by unscrupulous people who are deliberately
ripping off fans and putting tickets out of their reach.
Banning bots is a step towards ensuring the ticketing market
for live events works more fairly for gig-goers.
Paul Breckell, Action on Hearing Loss Chief Executive says:
How, where and when we can watch TV has moved on at an
incredible pace, but people with hearing loss have been left
behind when trying to enjoy catch-up TV and on-demand services
as many of these programmes and films are inaccessible due to a
lack of subtitles.
We welcome the leadership shown by government on this issue in
the Digital Economy Act, which promises to ensure that people
with a hearing loss have the freedom to choose what they view
and when - being able to watch it together with friends and
family and enjoy TV like their hearing peers. We look forward
to working with both the Government and the regulator, Ofcom,
to ensure that this legislation drives up standards for the
11million people in the UK with hearing loss. In an
increasingly digital world, subtitles are essential to social
inclusion so that people with hearing loss don’t miss out on
conversations with family and colleagues about the latest
must-see TV series that everyone’s talking about.’
Will Gardner, Chief Executive of internet safety charity Childnet
said:
Protecting children from exposure, including accidental
exposure, to adult content is incredibly important, given the
effect it can have on young people.
Steps like this to help restrict access, alongside the
provision of free parental controls and education, are key. It
is essential to help parents and carers, as well as young
people, be more aware of this risk and what they can do to
prevent exposure and also to make sense of exposure if it
happens.
