MEDIA REGULATION

PREP By the end of Sunday 19 September, use the lesson material from today and Thursday to write an A4 page (minimum) in response to the question ‛New media require new forms of regulation.̕ To what extent do you agree with this statement? [15] 

The work is also on Google Classroom, so please upload the essay to Classroom.

In the exam, you will have 2 essays worth 15 marks. Allow 30 minutes to answer each (regulation and power). Then one longer essay question worth 30 marks and one hour to answer it (media ecology).

Media regulation

1 Evaluate the reasons for and against stricter media regulation. [15] 

Media regulation
1 ‛New media require new forms of regulation.̕ To what extent do you agree with this statement? [15]

As you can see from two recent exam papers, the exam questions are very specific and also wide-ranging. To answer well, they require both flexibility and thorough preparation (you can't just apply your case study material to all questions) as well as a range of  case studies.

Today we look at internet regulation: do we need to regulate the internet? If so, why?

 

• The government thinks so and has introduced the Online Safety Bill
• Landmark laws to keep children safe, stop racial hate and protect democracy online
• It will tackle some of the worst abuses on social media, including racist hate crimes.
  
• The Online Safety Bill will help protect young people and clamp down on racist abuse online, while safeguarding freedom of expression.
• Financial fraud on social media and dating apps included to protect people from romance scams and fake investment opportunities
• Social media sites, websites, apps and other services hosting user-generated content or allowing people to talk to others online must remove and limit the spread of illegal and harmful content such as child sexual abuse, terrorist material and suicide content.
  
• It will safeguard freedom of expression and democracy, ensuring necessary online protections do not lead to unnecessary censorship.
• Ofcom will be given the power to fine companies failing in a new duty of care up to £18 million or ten per cent of annual global turnover, whichever is higher, and have the power to block access to sites. 

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

 

Today the UK shows global leadership with our groundbreaking laws to usher in a new age of accountability for tech and bring fairness and accountability to the online world.

 

We will protect children on the internet, crack down on racist abuse on social media and through new measures to safeguard our liberties, create a truly democratic digital age.

 

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

 

This new legislation will force tech companies to report online child abuse on their platforms, giving our law enforcement agencies the evidence they need to bring these offenders to justice.

 

Ruthless criminals who defraud millions of people and sick individuals who exploit the most vulnerable in our society cannot be allowed to operate unimpeded, and we are unapologetic in going after them.

 

It’s time for tech companies to be held to account and to protect the British people from harm. If they fail to do so, they will face penalties.

What do you say? To what extent do you agree with this and why could this be a minefield / difficult to regulate?

The Guardian technology writer thinks that content moderation is a difficult job - 'a messy new minefield'

Twitter chief Jack Dorsey had reservations about banning Trump on Twitter because of the dangerous precedent infringing democratic debate 

There is a lot of evidence that other people are concerned according to OFCOM

DEMOS took a snapshot of public opinion in a survey

But is it possible to regulate the internet?