UK regulator Ofcom proposes rules to bring streamers in line with broadcasters
UK media regulator Ofcom has revealed its plans to bring streaming platforms in line with traditional broadcasters on issues like harmful content, fairness and impartiality.
Ofcom’s new draft codes have been put out for consultation today in a bid to tackle the issue of broadcasters like the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky having to follow such regulations while Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and Apple TV+ do not, despite competing in the same market.
The government’s recent Media Act granted Ofcom, chaired by broadcast veteran Lord Michael Grade and led by CEO Dame Melanie Dawes, new powers to create and enforce a new content standards code for VoD services.
The aim was to level the regulatory playing field between streaming services and traditional broadcasters, so viewers receive similar protections, regardless of how and where they watch.
Some streamers, including Netflix, which are not based in the UK, have fallen outside Ofcom’s regulation entirely, even though they target and profit from UK audiences.
The draft code covers issues including:
- Protection of under-18s. Services will be required to comply with existing obligations to protect young audiences from material that may be harmful to them. The code also includes enhanced protections focused on preserving the welfare and legal rights of under-18s who appear in programmes.
- Harm and offence. Ofcom says the proposed rules do not prohibit potentially harmful or offensive material but will require services to provide adequate protection to viewers from potential harm and offence to be justified by context. The regulator is also proposing a clause that requires exceptional editorial justification for including explicit detail about novel or unusual suicide methods – an issue put in the spotlight by series including Netflix’s 2017 adaptation of 13 Reasons Why.
- Crime, disorder, hatred and abuse. Ofcom proposes rules to supplement the existing requirements on incitement to crime/disorder, abusive treatment and portrayals of criminal techniques and proceedings.
- Due impartiality and due accuracy. The proposed rules for news largely carry over those already set out in the Broadcasting Code. For non-news content, including current affairs programmes, Ofcom proposes to adapt the relevant impartiality requirements for the on-demand environment.
- Fairness and privacy. There is a proposal to maintain the same level of protection of individuals or organisations from unfair treatment or unwarranted infringement of privacy in content on streaming services as the regulator does for linear broadcast content.
There are also provisions to bring accessibility requirements for disabled viewers in line with the obligations traditional broadcasters already abide by, such as necessitating subtitling, audio description and signing.
Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Ofcom’s group director for broadcasting and media, said: “Audiences today want to watch great content across different on-demand platforms with the same reassurance and confidence they have when viewing traditional broadcast television.
“Our proposed new content standards code for the largest and most popular streaming services will, for the first time, deliver the clear and consistent protections that audiences need and expect. We’re also making sure that people with sight and hearing conditions can also enjoy popular streaming content by setting strong new accessibility requirements.”
The consultation will be open for submissions until August 7.
