EC Seen Less Rigid on Regulating Non-Linear Content
LIVERPOOL, England -- The European Commission (EC) stance seems to be softening slightly on oversight of on- demand audiovisual (A/V) services after industry slammed the proposal, a U.K. govt. official said here Thurs. In closing the European Union/U.K. A/V conference, Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding acknowledged in her speech that many support discerning between “linear” (scheduled) and “non-linear” programming, but “we will of course have to test this against the reality of a complex and fast-moving market and refine the legal definitions in the coming weeks.” That suggests flexibility not evident earlier, said Nigel Hickson, Dept. of Trade & Industry head of European e-commerce & telecoms regulatory framework.
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The EC, now reviewing the 1989 TV without Frontiers (TVWF) directive, has proposed all A/V e-delivery services come under 2-tiered regulation: (1) Set basic standards to protect minors and human dignity in all on- and offline A/V services. (2) Apply lighter, modernized TVWF-based rules to scheduled programming. The idea of TV-like rules governing Internet and on-demand content riles industry sectors, particularly telcos, ISPs and media groups (CD Sept 9 p8).
Reding cited consensus for a linear/non-linear divide, but many important speakers at the conference oppose that, Hickson told Communications Daily. On Tues., officials from the BBC, AOL U.K., Orange and other key players urged light-to-no rules on new services and no regulation of content (CD Sept 21 p9). The U.K. response to the EC consultation is likely to stress the difficulty of imagining technology “10 years down the track,” by which time the line between linear and non-linear services may well have vanished, he said.
Addressing reports that the Commission aims to regulate the Internet, Reding said: “This is nonsense. Never, ever has the Commission had such a foolish idea!” She asked the audience who among them favors child pornography on new media, and who “stands for the freedom to spread incitement racial hatred?” The EC has a duty to propose a regulatory framework that protects shared European values, she said, “but I have no intention to regulate the Internet.”
“I'm not sure now what she means by that,” Hickson said. The EC has proposed extending to all A/V services the right of citizens to reply to statements about them they see as hurtful, implying substantial costs businesses don’t now face, he said: And will bloggers’ sites have to make room for posts by readers unhappy with some comment, he asked.
In voicing her disinclination to regulate the Internet, Reding seems to mean how the Internet is received, Hickson said. But requiring on-demand and new media services to provide a right-of-reply or to adopt TV rules for content unsuitable for children would mean regulating content producers, he said.
A “fundamental recasting of our business model for commercial TV” is needed, ITV Chief Exec. Charles Allen said Thurs. Regulators also march to market developments, and must do a “radical rethink” of TVWF, he said. He had ideas for the TVWF review: (1) Adhere to the EC principle of “good regulation” by doing the minimum necessary to achieve defined policy goals. (2) Regulate similar services in a similar way: “If it looks like a duck.” (3) Don’t stifle new services with new regulations.
On Wed., participants split into work groups to debate TVWF proposals. Heading the group on TVWF scope, Office of Communications (Ofcom) Chmn. Lord Currie said Ofcom starts from “the position that it is doubtful whether the best way to promote such new content and new business models in Europe is through more regulation.” The EC must take care to weigh costs and benefits of regulating content delivered over non-broadcast platforms, he said
Concerns about minors and human dignity are best dealt with by providing consumers filtering and parental controls, coupled with industry self-regulation to block some content, Currie said. These steps, plus tighter laws barring illegal content “will go a long way to deliver te benefits claimed for extending the scope” of the directive, he said.
Ofcom has “real concern” about adopting a traditional, broadcast-type regulatory model for content delivered on new platforms. While accepting the need to draw a line between services that attract regulation and those that don’t, Currie said, “we are not confident that the proposed split between linear and non-linear will prove sufficiently durable or future-proofed.” He urged the EC to convene an expert panel of regulators to consider the practicality of whatever split is agreed to.
Reding assured listeners she favors a light regulatory touch and a flexible legal framework. “So far, nothing has been decided” on TVWF, she said, but decisions drafted in coming weeks will be presented to the European Parliament and Council at year’s end. The U.K. will respond to the consultation in the next couple of weeks, Hickson said.