What is the difference between a consumer based media regulation system and a citizen based regulation system?

Consumer based media is focused on giving people what they want, there is an environment created in which audiences make judgments themselves about the kinds of media appropriate for their consumption. Citizen based media is a positive form of regulation that directs media content so that it can improve the lives of citizens and contribute to the well-being of wider society. This is used to ensure that the media isn’t flooded with shows/news that may be unnecessary or valuable to the public.

What impact did the 2003 Communications Act have on media regulation?

The 2003 Communications Act promoted independent television production by requiring the BBC and Channel 4 to create/commission more content from smaller production companies. This meant that individual television companies could grow and have more freedom when creating content which would allow their content to be more commercially viable. However, this resulted in the production of programming that lacks the civic-minded republicanism that had been adopted within previous regulatory frameworks.

What is the drawback of a self-regulated system?

Requirements for businesses/companies may not be met if people are able to self-regulate as there won’t be any real guidance on what is allowed and what isn’t, companies may not know what to target in order to reach their target audience if they have no guidance and are solely relying on their own opinions and ideas. It isn’t possible for a person to self-regulate their own company especially if they are a big company such as the BBC, everyone needs some guidance on a direction that companies should go on. Although it is good to have your own ideas and bring your own things into a business, it is also good to understand that there needs to be some guidance on what needs to be covered.

How do you regulate media content and organisations on a global scale?

Tech giants don’t author their own content, this is because user generated content is published which makes it impossible to prevent or properly check problematic material. Some companies have embedded content-vetting algorithms to automate their gate keeping processes, but they lack the standard to solve meaningful regulatory issues in a satisfactory way.