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Category: Public Affairs

  • Ofcom publishes statement on its regulation of the BBC

    Ofcom publishes statement on its regulation of the BBC

    The statement incorporates evidence gained from a consultation last year (which the PPA responded to) and makes recommendations for changes that the Government could make to the Charter Agreement, as well as proposals for alterations to Ofcom’s guidance on how the BBC can make changes to its services.

    Ofcom acknowledged arguments made by the PPA and others, that the BBC’s immense digital presence is harming commercial publishers. BBC News Online encroaches on, and arguably duplicates content produced by commercial specialist media publishers, whilst the rapid growth of BBC Sounds demonstrates how the Corporation’s inbuilt advantages allow it to rapidly build capabilities, potentially ‘crowding out’ commercial competitors.

    In its statement, Ofcom cited PPA’s calls for greater regulatory scrutiny of competition impacts in the podcast sector, and more formal processes for the BBC to garner views of changes to its service in the early stages of development. Whilst the regulator is proposing changes to the Charter Agreement that would allow some BBC change to be approved more quickly, the regulator proposes to balance this with effective stakeholder engagement and requirements for the Corporation to provide more detailed information about future changes, improving scrutiny.

    PPA is in the process of feeding into the Mid-Term Charter Review, and will respond to a more detailed consultation on changes of Ofcom wishes to make to its regulation of changes to the BBC’s public services when it is published in the Autumn.

  • Press Gazette highlights ‘glaring omission’ in Online Safety Bill

    Press Gazette highlights ‘glaring omission’ in Online Safety Bill

    As the PPA has reported, the Government majority in the Public Bill Committee (an ad hoc parliamentary body that scrutinises legislation) rejected a PPA-backed amendment to give specialist media titles the same protections as newspapers in the Online Safety Bill.

    In its roundup on Tuesday, Press Gazette reports: "The definition of a news publisher used by the government means a title such as Inside Housing, which won awards for its investigation into the causes of the Grenfell fire, would not have the protection given to titles such as The Sun and Mail Online."

    A PPA spokesperson told Press Gazette: “Independently regulated specialist publishers offer a wide range of public interest journalism on a wide range of topics, yet are at risk of being penalised in the Online Safety Bill precisely because of their expert focus on key sectors and interests.

    “The dissemination of content online is seeing more and more UK citizens seek out sources of news and information that speak to very specific interests – this means that a failure to protect specialist publishers in the bill will make the press and media protections progressively less effective over time.”

  • PPA-backed amendment to landmark Bill debated in Westminster

    PPA-backed amendment to landmark Bill debated in Westminster

    SNP Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport John Nicolson MP argued that ‘special interest news material’ – consisting of news or information about a particular pastime, hobby, trade, business, industry or profession – should be given equal protection to the content produced by current affairs-focused national newspapers. The amendment was also backed by Labour Shadow Minister Alex Davies-Jones.

    Conservative Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Chris Philp responded to Nicolson’s arguments, stating that freedom of expression concerns may be less relevant to specialist titles, and that ‘below the line’ comments on specialist publishers’ websites would still be protected in the Bill.

    The amendment was not taken forward by the Committee – despite cross-party support from Labour and the SNP, the Conservative majority on the Committee makes Ministerial support practically essential.

    The PPA was disappointed to hear Philp’s opposition to the amendment, as it is clear that specialist media publishers produce expert public interest content on a range of topics.

    Further, the trusted content on a range of topics produced by independently regulated PPA members will be key in combating the broad range of harms that the Bill seeks to address. Indeed, Philp’s Conservative colleague and former Cabinet Minister John Whittingdale has raised the issue twice in the House of Commons.

    This follows a recommendation by the Joint Committee of MPs and peers following scrutiny of the Draft Bill that stated: ‘We are concerned that some consumer and business magazines, and academic journals, may not be covered by the Clause [50] exemptions. We recommend that the Department consult with the relevant industry bodies to see how the exemption might be amended to cover this of, without creating loopholes in the legislation.’

  • PPA response cited in final CMA report on Mobile Ecosystems

    PPA response cited in final CMA report on Mobile Ecosystems

    The PPA submitted a response to the CMA’s most recent consultation on its investigation, focusing on Apple and Google’s role in competition between app developers, and specifically publisher apps.

    In its summary of the Final Report, the CMA notes: ‘Apple and Google’s control of their app stores puts them in a key position to set the rules for competition between app developers whilst also directly competing with their own apps. They unilaterally determine: what apps are allowed; how they are ranked and discovered; and set commission rates and many other rules.’ Areas of relevance to publisher apps include:

    • self-preferencing of Apple/Google apps or services in a way that harms competition and consumers
    • restrictions on access to hardware and software functionality
    • pre-installation and default-setting of certain apps
    • app discovery through the App Store and Play Store
    • collection and use by Apple and Google of commercially sensitive information and other data from app developers

    The CMA makes clear that the evidence from the Market Study further demonstrates the need for the government’s proposed new pro-competition regulatory regime, which would empower the Digital Markets Unit (DMU).

    The regulator notes that ‘many of the concerns we have regarding Apple and Google’s hold over their mobile ecosystems could not be addressed through quick or easy fixes’, making the new regime’s tailored powers essential.

    However, the CMA has decided to consult on a Market Investigation Reference (an in-depth probe using its existing powers) into mobile browsers and cloud gaming, with the regulator citing submissions including the PPA’s as explanation of its decision.

    Although the discrete areas in the focus of the probe are not central to publishers’ concerns, it is positive that the regulator is showing a willingness to use its existing powers before the DMU is given statutory backing.

  • Senior MP tables amendment to Online Safety Bill to protect specialist media publishers

    Senior MP tables amendment to Online Safety Bill to protect specialist media publishers

    The amendment, also backed by Nicolson’s parliamentary colleague Kirsty Blackman MP, would give ‘special interest news material’ – consisting of news or information about a particular pastime, hobby, trade, business, industry or profession – equal protections to the content published by national newspapers.

    Nicolson has been MP for the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency since 2019, having previously represented East Dunbartonshire from 2015 to 2017. Before entering parliament, he worked as a reporter for a range of high-profile BBC news and current affairs shows, and has written for a wide range of magazine and newspaper titles.

    The amendment will be considered by the Public Bill Committee, which is scrutinising the Bill line-by-line. This follows a recommendation by the Joint Committee of MPs and peers following scrutiny of the Draft Bill that stated: ‘We are concerned that some consumer and business magazines, and academic journals, may not be covered by the Clause [50] exemptions. We recommend that the Department consult with the relevant industry bodies to see how the exemption might be amended to cover this of, without creating loopholes in the legislation.’ The issue has also been raised in the House of Commons chamber.

    PPA welcomes the tabling of this much needed amendment to a landmark piece of legislation, and will continue to emphasise the essential need for specialist media protections to the Government and parliamentarians of all parties.

  • Senior Conservative MP raises the need for protections for specialist media in House of Commons

    Senior Conservative MP raises the need for protections for specialist media in House of Commons

    At Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Questions on 26th May, senior Conservative MP John Whittingdale MP asked a topical question on when clauses will be brought forward to further protections for legitimate journalism in the Online Safety Bill, and if these will cover specialist news publishers.

    To this, Minister Chris Philp MP noted that noted that Clause 50 of the Online Safety Bill ‘already exempts recognised news publishers from the provisions; of the Bill and that Clause 16 provides ‘particular exemptions for content of journalistic importance’.

    Philp also commented on commitments made on the Bill’s Second Reading and said the Department ‘will be going further to provide a right of appeal in relation to journalistic content’. Philp further added that ‘work is going on to deliver that commitment right now, and that [the Department] will be bringing forward news as soon as we can’.

    Whittingdale’s question follows a similar query in the Bill’s Second Reading Debate. Last year, the Joint Committee of Lords and MPs which scrutinised the Draft Bill stated: ‘We are concerned that some consumer and business magazines, and academic journals, may not be covered by the Clause 40 exemptions. We recommend that the Department consult with the relevant industry bodies to see how the exemption might be amended to cover this of, without creating loopholes in the legislation.’ As of yet, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has failed to commit to extend protections for ‘recognised news publishers’ to independently regulated specialist titles.

  • CMA launches investigation into Google over potential abuse of dominance in ad tech, citing impact on publishers

    CMA launches investigation into Google over potential abuse of dominance in ad tech, citing impact on publishers

    The CMA will examine three key parts of the ad tech stack; Google owns the largest service provider in each of these parts of the chain:

    • Demand-side platforms (DSPs)
    • Ad exchanges
    • Publisher ad servers

    The regulator will assess whether Google limited the interoperability of its ad exchange with third-party publisher ad servers and/or contractually tied these services together, making it more difficult for rival ad servers to compete. It will also investigate whether Google’s publisher ad server and its DSPs to illegally favour its own ad exchange services, while taking steps to exclude the services offered by rivals.

    Andrea Coscelli, the CMA’s Chief Executive, said: ‘Weakening competition in this area could reduce the ad revenues of publishers, who may be forced to compromise the quality of their content to cut costs or put their content behind paywalls. It may also be raising costs for advertisers which are passed on through higher prices for advertised goods and services’.

    A draft Bill to give the CMA more powers to govern the behaviour of big tech firms, through the Digital Markets Unit, was recently announced in the Queen’s Speech.

  • Government launches BBC Mid-Term Charter Review: competition and market impact on commercial content makers in focus

    Government launches BBC Mid-Term Charter Review: competition and market impact on commercial content makers in focus

    The objective of the Review is to examine whether the governance arrangements established during Charter Review 2015/16 are effective in enabling the BBC to deliver on its Mission and Public Purposes, and reviewing the evidence as to how ensuring Ofcom can successfully hold the BBC to account. The Review will make recommendations for changes to these arrangements during the current Charter period and for further consideration at the next Charter Review.

    The PPA submitted evidence last year to Ofcom’s consultation on its regulation of the BBC, arguing that the current regulatory framework does not allow Ofcom to adequately assess the market impact of changes to the BBC’s services in the digital age. We argued that license fee funded services should not seek to replicate content for audiences which are already well catered for by specialist media publishers.

    Earlier this year PPA also met with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to discuss the detail of the Terms of Reference, arguing that the BBC’s impact on UK specialist publishers should be scrutinised as the Department assesses the effectiveness of the current governance and regulation arrangements.

    We are therefore pleased to see that ‘competition and market impact’ is a key consideration in scope of the Review. The Department will evaluate ‘how the BBC and Ofcom assess the market impact and public value of the BBC in an evolving marketplace and how that relates to the wider UK media ecology, including with regard to commercial radio and local news sectors and other content makers and distributors’.

    The PPA will continue to engage with Government as the Mid-Term Charter Review progresses.

  • Government delays HFSS online advertising restrictions

    Government delays HFSS online advertising restrictions

    The restrictions will apply to all online marketing communications that are either intended or likely to come to the attention of UK consumers, and which have the effect of promoting identifiable HFSS products. SME brands (companies with fewer than 250 staff) will be exempt, as will business-to-business advertising and media supporting point of sale/purchase/transactional content. Brand-only advertising will continue to be permitted provided that no HFSS products are shown in the advert.

    The Department of Health and Social Care stated that the decision was made due to ‘a delay to the Health and Care Bill [which will introduce the restrictions] receiving Royal Assent, as well as a growing recognition that the industry needs more time to prepare’.

    Restrictions banning HFSS adverts on TV before 9pm have also been paused for a year. The Department stated that a consultation on TV and paid-for-adverts online will be launched in the coming weeks.

    Speaking about the decision, Media, Data and Digital Minister Julia Lopez MP said: "We have listened to the concerns which have been raised and will not be bringing in restrictions […] until confident that the time is right.". The Government acknowledged that economies ‘across the world have been affected by higher than expected global energy and goods prices, leading to increased costs across supply chains which are affecting both businesses and consumers’.

  • Queen’s Speech 2022: Draft Bill to give the Digital Markets Unit statutory powers announced

    Queen’s Speech 2022: Draft Bill to give the Digital Markets Unit statutory powers announced

    The PPA has long campaigned for the Digital Markets legislation to be passed as soon as possible, and we look forward to working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the DMU to ensure that the Bill is given parliamentary time at the earliest opportunity. We recently welcomed the news that the DMU’s Codes of Conduct for platforms and publishers will include all content providers, including specialist media. The Codes will focus on platforms’ algorithms, access to data, content presentation, and payment for content.

    The Draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will create new competition rules for digital markets and the largest digital firms. The Government states that a main benefit of the legislation will be that ‘businesses across the economy that rely on very powerful tech firms […] are treated fairly and can succeed without having to comply with unfair terms.'

    Firms with Strategic Market Status will face ‘legally enforceable rules and obligations to ensure they cannot abuse their dominant positions at the expense of consumers and other businesses’. The DMU will ‘impose interventions to inject competition into the market, including obligations on tech firms to report new mergers and give consumers more choice and control over their data.'

    New regulations for subscription contracts will also be included in the Bill, and you can read about the Government’s latest update on the plans here. The PPA is working with members to ensure that the regulations are not unduly burdensome and reflect publishers’ business models.

    Following a consultation which the PPA responded to, the Government also set out its plans for a Data Reform Bill, committing to create a ‘world class data rights regime that will allow us to create a new pro-growth and trusted UK data protection framework that reduces burdens on businesses’. This includes the building of a ‘data protection framework that is focused on privacy outcomes rather than box-ticking.'

    Also announced in the Speech was a Media Bill, including provisions to repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which will be critical in preserving freedom of the press.

    The PPA will continue to work with Government, parliamentarians, and regulators to ensure that the DMU regime will create tangible benefits for specialist publishers, ultimately benefiting UK consumers by ensuring that creators of trusted content can build sustainable business models in the digital age.