MEDIA POLICY PLANNER - Your Resource for Engagement

MASONJA

About Policy Planner

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far Policy Planner has created 45 entries.
  • Permalink Gallery

    EU Parliament passes net neutrality law and other major reforms

EU Parliament passes net neutrality law and other major reforms

Today Europe’s crucial telecoms package, part of the “Connected Continent” reforms to create a singe EU telecoms market, passed through its first European Parliament vote. The most notable aspects of the bill are the amendments that define and protect net neutrality.

The bill has been hotly debated, and after the legislation went through an industry committee, many policymakers concerned with maintaining net neutrality said the committee left major loopholes in the legislation that put net neutrality at risk.  The Socialist, Liberal, Green and Left parties in the European Parliament introduced new amendments after the final committee to fix loopholes that would have allowed telecommunications companies to classify web services of their choice as “specialized services” subject to differential treatment.

For neutrality advocates, passing this contested definition was a big win. And luckily the net neutrality debate did not halt the package, which also includes new laws to eliminate roaming fees in Europe. Now the entire package will need to pass through to the next Parliament (elections are coming up in May),and  then the representatives of European countries for final approval.

You can read more here.

By |April 3rd, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More
  • Permalink Gallery

    MEPs to vote on net neutrality and elimination of roaming charges

MEPs to vote on net neutrality and elimination of roaming charges

On Thursday the European Parliament will get the first and single reading of draft regulations aimed at creating a “Connected Continent” and a single market for telecommunications. The current draft, which was amended significantly by the ITRE committee in its vote on 18 March, is now available in a version that shows the changes made.

Several pieces of the original proposal related to the idea of a single authorization and European virtual broadband were removed.  Some provisions related to the rights of end-users were also deleted with the explanation that they are to be dealt with in a revision of the Universal Service Directive. The draft defines net neutrality as: “The principle [that] the open internet means that traffic should be treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference, independent of the sender, receiver, type, content, device, service or application,” but similarly to the original proposal allows for “reasonable” traffic management under certain conditions.

The draft sets the deadline for the end of roaming charges for mobile communications as 15 December 2015, but allows companies to institute “fair use” conditions on users. The debate is set to begin at 08:30 in Brussels on 3 April.

By |April 1st, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More
  • Permalink Gallery

    Two new policy briefs look at press regulation and media funding, respectively

Two new policy briefs look at press regulation and media funding, respectively

Today, at the Polis 2014 conference, the LSE Media Policy Project unveiled two new policy briefs. The Media Policy Project produces Policy Briefs that present new research relevant to current policy debates to make academic research accessible and understandable to a larger audience.

You can access the briefs below and on the LSE Media Policy Project Blog.

The New UK Model of Press Regulation
By Hugh Tomlinson QC

In an easy to understand fashion, this brief explains how the new system of press self-regulation following the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry is designed to function. It points out the specific “double lock” safeguards against political influence and argues that any attempts to replicate the model should focus on these protections.

Public Funding of Private Media
By Corinne Schweizer, Manuel Puppis, Matthias Künzler, and Samuel Studer

This brief looks at the use of various ways that private media are supported by public funds or privileges in some of the countries that rate the highest in terms of press freedom. It highlights the ways that public support can be constructed to minimize potential for political manipulation of the press.

 

By |March 28th, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More

Media Literacy in the UK and Europe

Definitions of media literacy remain contested, with different dimensions emphasised or marginalised. Arguably the biggest concern in attempting to reach a consensus on a definition of media literacy is the tendency in some policy statements to undervalue the importance of critical or creative/ communicative dimensions. Definitions vary, and include:

‘The ability to access, analyse, evaluate and communicate messages in a variety of forms’ (US National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy, Pat Aufderheide, 1993). Aufderheide’s full definition can be found at:

http://www.frankwbaker.com/Media_Lit_Quotes.html

‘The ability to use, understand and create media and communications’ (Ofcom). Ofcom’s full outline of media literacy can be found at:

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/media-literacy/

Sonia Livingstone also uses this definition, which is expressed in her discussion on media literacy, which can be found at:

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/1027/1/What_is_media_literacy_%28LSERO%29.pdf

‘Media literacy relates to the ability to access the media, to understand and critically evaluate different aspects of the media and media content and to create communications in a variety of contexts.’ (European Commission). This definition is given here:

http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/media-literacy/index_en.htm

1.     Background

Media Literacy in the UK

Ofcom:

In aiming to meet this statutory mandate, Ofcom undertakes research into UK citizens’ media literacy needs in order to inform and support public policy initiatives. Ofcom’s research initiatives in this regard are broadly classified into three categories: children’s research, adults’ research, and nations’ research. Ofcom’s Media Literacy Audits for children and parents are undertaken regularly, followed by the publication of detailed reports (the most recent in October 2013). You can view the reports here:

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/october-2013/research07Oct2013.pdf?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Media+Use+2013

A commentary of the reports by Sonia Livingstone:

https://blogstest.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/2013/10/04/the-latest-on-childrens-media-literacy-new-trend-policymakers-parents-must-watch/

Ofcom researches various aspects of children’s media usage and literacy, including children and parents’ attitudes to diverse media; the websites visited by children; how parental controls are exercised and evaluated; and children’s television viewing preferences at different times in the day.

Ofcom similarly undertakes in-depth […]

By |March 20th, 2014|1 Comment|
Read More

Sixth online safety report released; calls for more action

UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee published its 6th Online Safety report today.

The report looked at everything from Internet child abuse to legal porn and violent content to social media use. The report recommends further action in the UK to eliminate child abuse content and to protect children from online pornography that is legally made available to adults. It also recommends further actions to protect children from bullying and harassment via social media. The report calls upon a range of public and private organisations to achieve these outcomes.

The report commended the Internet Watch Foundation’s (IWF) work with ISP’s thus far to block child abuse, but also warned that such tools were “blunt” and may be challenging to implement when blocking other types of content because of the scale and cost.

You can read the full report online and the list of recommendations.

By |March 19th, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More
  • Permalink Reported by internet using kids aged 9-15 in the UKGallery

    Where is the harm? New findings on children’s risks online

Where is the harm? New findings on children’s risks online

The Association of Children and Adolescent Mental Health met on Friday 14th of March in the heart of London to present and engage with issues regarding risks, harm and addiction of young people and children and the internet.

Giving the Keynote speech was LSE’s own Professor Sonia Livingstone who shared new data illustrating a rise in hateful messages but a decrease in those with sexual content. Sue Berelowitz, Deputy Children’s Commissioner, Professor Mark Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University and Big White Wall’s CEO & FOUNDER, Jenny Hyatt, accompanied her. According to the data she presented an increasing number of children in the UK aged 11-16 are reporting seeing hateful or racist messages online, including those that attack individuals or groups.

Twenty three per cent of all 11-16 year olds who use the internet say they have come across such messages, a sharp rise from the 13% who said this when interviewed by EU Kids Online in 2010.

These latest survey findings also reveal an increase in the percentage who themselves received nasty or bullying messages online (from 8% of 9-16 year olds in 2010 to 12% in 2013) and in those who have seen pro-anorexic sites (from 8% of 11-16 year olds in 2010 to 14% in 2013).

Other findings including the following:
• More encouragingly, given the public policy efforts to address ‘sexting’ (the receipt of sexual messages online), there is a decrease in the proportion who report receiving these (from 12% to 5% of 11-16 year olds).
• There is no change over this period in the percentages who say they have encountered sexual or pornographic images online, or in the percentages who have gone to a meeting offline with someone they first met online.
• Importantly, not all risks online […]

By |March 14th, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More
  • Permalink Gallery

    MEP’s vote for stronger privacy protection for EU citizens

MEP’s vote for stronger privacy protection for EU citizens

Following a six month enquiry, MEP’s announced that the US could risk losing the European Parliament’s approval of the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal if the National Security Agency does not cease its blanket mass surveillance.

Additionally, it was declared that the “Safe Harbour” privacy principles should be suspended immediately. In light of the revelations about US NSA surveillance, these voluntary principles aimed at companies transferring EU citizen’s data to The US were judged insufficient in protecting EU citizens. The US was urged to present new regulations regarding personal data transfer that would meet EU standards of data protection.

The text also included calls for initiatives to protect EU whistle-blowers, an EU based cloud computing system and IT solutions, and calls for the halt of The Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) until further clarification is provided regarding the extent of US government access to EU citizen bank data outside the agreed parameters.

The resolution to promote EU citizen privacy was backed 544 voted to 78, with 60 abstentions. This vote falls in the context of the reform of the EU’s data protection rules, which are expected to conclude with revisions of the Data Protection Directive among others by the end of this year.

By |March 13th, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More

Online Surveillance

Online surveillance is the monitoring of data stored on hard drives or servers, computer activity, or data transfers over the Internet or other computer networks. This type of monitoring is done both legally and illegally by individuals, governments, and corporations. Online surveillance programs are becoming increasingly common.
Many governments see online surveillance as a way monitor threats, prevent or investigate crime, and increase national security. However, many individuals, civil liberties groups, and some governments, who are the target of online surveillance, feel the unprecedented ability to monitor online and computer activities is a major threat.

The issue of online surveillance was a major topic of conversation and debate in 2013 when American computer specialist and former Central Intelligence Agency employee – Edward Snowden – stole a number of classified documents and leaked them to several media outlets. The documents revealed the details of a global online surveillance program run by the American National Security Agency (NSA) and the Five Eyes Security Alliance (US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada).

A BBC article that explains how online surveillance can occur and how data is gathered:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24717495

1. Background

Surveillance in the UK

The GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) is the UK spy agency that is dedicated to intelligence and information gathering, and is the UK’s equivalent to the NSA. The GCHQ states that it abides by UK law in its operations, including the Human Rights Act, and only searches for data when they have reason to do so, mainly targeting criminals and terrorists within the UK. On 21 June 2013, the Guardian reported that GCHQ had data interceptors on fibre-optic cables that carry internet data to and from the UK with locations across Europe and the US. This allows the GCHQ to directly access […]

By |March 3rd, 2014|1 Comment|
Read More
  • Permalink Gallery

    House of Lords to question Collette Bowe, outgoing Chair of Ofcom

House of Lords to question Collette Bowe, outgoing Chair of Ofcom

On  4 March, the House of Lords Communications Committee will hold an evidence session to question Dame Colette Bowe, the outgoing Chair of Ofcom.

Ms. Bowe was appointed Ofcom Chair in March 2009. In July 2013 she announced that she would step down in March 2014, the end of her five year term.

The Committee will invite Dame Colette Bowe to reflect on the changes in the communications sector during her period as Chair, and explore the implications of these changes for regulation, Ofcom and its independence, and media policy as a whole.

The evidence session can be viewed here.

The LSE Media Policy Project’s February 2014 interview with Ms. Bowe can be found here.

By |March 3rd, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More

“Connected Continent” vote delayed by ITRE

The Industry, Research, and Energy Committee (ITRE) of The European Parliament have delayed the vote on the “connected continent” legislation. This controversial spectrum policy would have resulted in further coordination at the EU level.

Prior to being voted on by The EP in plenary session, legislation is reviewed and amended by The ITRE. The ITRE committee’s job is to scrutinize and amend legislation on industrial matters before they are voted upon by the European Parliament in plenary session.

The MEP’S in The ITRE committee were expected to endorse legislation regarding the use of plastic bags and also the TSM (telecoms single market) package. The vote was postponed at the last minute when an assemblage of Euro-questioning MEPS submitted a report calling for a delay.

The group argued that the legislation to limit use of plastic bags had not been translated into different languages. It was then submitted that the connected continent legislation had also been neglected to be translated.

A precedent in EU policymaking will be set if the amendments are postponed, as compromise amendments such as this are usually only written in English. Compromise amendments are usually only published in English so the postponement of the vote could set a precedent in EU policymaking.

The vote to postpone both pieces of legislation was successful, in a 29 against 24 vote count.

By |February 28th, 2014|0 Comments|
Read More