Key Facts

• The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill was welcomed by Labour for regulating large tech companies.
• Radio stations are important for 50 million weekly listeners in the UK.
• Voice-activated platforms cannot play their own playlists or overlay advertising without broadcaster permission.
• Clause 49 inserts proposed new schedules into the Communications Act 2003.
• Maximum penalty for non-compliance is £250,000 for BBC, S4C, and persons failing to comply with information notices.
• For other cases, maximum penalty is the greater of £250,000 or 5% of the provider’s qualifying worldwide revenue.
• Clause 50 is contentious due to concerns over press accountability.
• Impress was set up as an independent regulator, but no national newspapers signed up.
• IPSO upholds fewer than 1% of complaints with cases taking almost six months on average.
• Reporters Without Borders has been calling for the repeal of Section 40 since 2016.
• The government's consultation in 2016-17 showed that 79% of respondents favoured full repeal of section 40.
• The News Media Association estimates that Section 40 would cost the national and local press £100 million a year.
• The MP argues that statutory regulation is incompatible with British media traditions.
• Section 40 threatens newspapers with paying their own costs and those of the claimant even if they win the case, which does not exist elsewhere in English law.
• The current threat of section 40 commencement has not compelled newspapers to seek regulatory bodies.
• Newspapers have liability for both copy printed and adverts accepted.
• Online publications lacked transparency and legal accountability.
• Companies like Facebook should have a liability for promoting spam-related or misinformation content.
• Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 is to be repealed by clause 50.
• Leveson report was published over a decade ago attempting to balance press standards and free press protection.
• Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 remains unused since its announcement.
• Only about 200 publications signed up to the regulator created for recognition by the panel.
• IPSO, a self-regulator, has been found independent and delivering principles in the editors' code.
• Countries with less regard for media freedom look at section 40 as a potential interference by the state.
• The clause introduces schedule 12 for minor and technical amendments.
• Part 1 removes references to the audiovisual media services directive from the Broadcasting Acts of 1990 and 1996.
• Part 2 amends part 4A of the Communications Act 2003.
• Clause proposes giving Ofcom power to monitor and regulate public service content.
• Clause mandates Secretary of State to prepare report on children’s access to public service content within six months of Act's passage.
• The clauses were read for the first time but negatived in the Committee.
• The Children's Media Foundation has highlighted issues regarding children's public service content.
• Less than half of 3 to 17-year-olds now watch live television according to Ofcom estimates.
• In 2022, the volume of first-run UK-originated children’s programming on PSB channels dropped to 518 hours from 640 hours in 2019.
• Over 750 creatives and executives signed an open letter campaigning for extension of the young audiences content fund.
• The quality of CBeebies programmes is trusted by parents.
• Public service broadcasters must collectively produce a wide range of children’s content under new subsection 264(5)(c) of the Communications Act 2003.
• The young audiences content fund was designed to support the commissioning of children's content on channels other than BBC.
• Clause 52 gives the Secretary of State a regulation-making power to amend other existing legislation.
• Clause 53 authorises expenditure from the Bill for possible increased spending by Ofcom or grants to S4C.
• Clause 54 sets out the territorial extent of the Bill, excluding section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 which applies only to England and Wales.
• The majority of provisions will be brought into force by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
• Clause 50, repealing section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, comes into force two months after Royal Assent.
• The Media Bill has been debated over three days.
• There is remarkable agreement across the Committee on the Bill's provisions.
• The Bill will move up to the House of Lords after Christmas.