Culture Secretary has announced plans to broaden
the scope of the UK's media mergers regime, updating it for the
digital age to reflect modern news consumption habits and better
protect media freedom and plurality.
The plans will allow for greater scrutiny in the public interest
of deals to purchase UK online news publications and news
magazines that might adversely impact accurate reporting, freedom
of expression and media plurality; widening the scope of the
regime beyond television, radio and print newspapers as it
presently stands.
Currently the media mergers regime set out in the Enterprise Act
2002 allows the Culture Secretary to intervene in mergers and
acquisitions of broadcasters (defined as services which require a
licence under the Broadcasting Act 1996), as well as UK daily and
Sunday print newspapers, and local periodical newspapers, which
mainly circulate in the UK.
The media landscape has changed significantly since the
Enterprise Act became law more than two decades ago. To reflect
the way news is increasingly consumed online and the need to
protect the freedom of the press as a cornerstone of democracy,
today the Culture Secretary has launched a consultation seeking
views on expanding the scope of the media mergers regime to
include online news publications and weekly or monthly print news
publications.
Culture Secretary said:
Since the media mergers regime came into force more than twenty
years ago, our laws haven't kept pace with technology and
evolving news consumption habits.
As people increasingly get their news online, we need a regime
that is future-proof. That's why I'm proposing further reforms to
protect the availability of accurate, high-quality news from a
variety of sources, ensuring media freedom continues to be
upheld.”
Mergers involving companies that own online news publications
which are connected with the UK, for example online-only news
providers such as HuffPost or The Independent, or the online arms
of print publications - would now be within scope of the media
mergers regime. This would mean the Culture Secretary has the
ability to intervene in a merger, which meets certain conditions
relating to turnover or share of supply, where they believe a
public interest consideration may be relevant. According to
Ofcom's annual
report on news consumption in the UK, nearly a quarter of UK
adults (22%) access news via print newspapers, increasing to 34%
when including their online platforms.
The consultation also proposes bringing news publications
circulated on a weekly or monthly basis - such as The Economist
or Prospect - in scope of the regime to ensure the legislation is
fit for purpose and accurately reflects how people consume news;
given daily, local, and Sunday publications are already
included.
The measures would ensure that the public interest can be
safeguarded across these popular sources of news content for
people across the UK. It would enable the Culture Secretary to
intervene where necessary to protect the availability of a wide
range of accurate and high-quality news, particularly for younger
audiences as technology and news habits evolve.
Pending the conclusion of the consultation, the proposed changes
to the Enterprise Act will be made via secondary legislation. The
proposed inclusion of online news sites will apply both to the
public interest media mergers regime and to the new foreign state
influence regime. The powers would not apply retrospectively to
historic transactions.
The proposed reforms ensure a proportionate approach that
reflects the way in which modern news is consumed, without
putting undue pressure on businesses. They follow advice the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport received from independent
regulator Ofcom as part of its statutory review of the operation
of media ownership rules, and do not involve any regulation of
the editorial content of a news outlet.
The UK has a strong track record for encouraging investment which
has been critical to growth within the media and wider creative
industries, and this pro-growth government will continue that
trend, protecting free speech and providing a robust framework
that encourages media plurality.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
