Apple TV+ and Other Streaming Services Could Face Ofcom Regulation in the UK

[MacRumors]

U.S. video streaming services including Apple TV+, Netflix, and Disney+ are likely to face tighter regulation in the U.K. as part of proposals being considered by the British government.

Ministers at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport today announced that they will consult on plans to bring streaming video platforms under British broadcasting laws in order to level the regulatory playing field with traditional broadcasters like the BBC, ITV, Sky and others.

Traditional broadcasters like the BBC and ITV must comply with regulator Ofcom's code, which covers issues including harm, offense, accuracy, and impartiality. If the rules of the code are broken, Ofcom can dole out fines and suspend licenses.

Currently the only streaming platform that must also adhere to the code is the BBC iPlayer, while the likes of Netflix and Amazon do not fall under its remit, because their headquarters are not located in the United Kingdom.

Some services use their own voluntary measures, such as Netflix's adoption of British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) age ratings on content. However, in a press release announcing the review, ministers say the time has come for the current status quo to change:

The current landscape makes for an inconsistent, ad-hoc and potentially harmful gap in regulation between video-on-demand services alongside a potential competitive disadvantage between UK broadcasters and their internationally-funded online counterparts.

It is also almost twenty years since the UK broadcast sector's regulatory framework was introduced in the Communications Act 2003, which was designed before the arrival of online companies such as Apple+, Amazon Prime and Netflix in their current form.

The government will also take forward existing commitments to legislate to strengthen public service broadcasters "prominence" online so that their video-on-demand content can easily be found and accessed on smart TVs and other platforms and devices.

According to the press release, the review will look at whether rules need strengthening to ensure that all streamers have appropriate content age ratings in place and whether they should be subject to standards on impartiality and accuracy for documentaries and news programming.

"Technology has transformed broadcasting but the rules protecting viewers and helping our traditional channels compete are from an analogue age," said Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, announcing the review. "The time has come to look at how we can unleash the potential of our public service broadcasters while also making sure viewers and listeners consuming content on new formats are served by a fair and well-functioning system."

The streaming service regulation review will be used to prepare a white paper, which could see traditional broadcasting laws transformed to account for the rise of streaming and on-demand services.

Article Link: Apple TV+ and Other Streaming Services Could Face Ofcom Regulation in the UK

 

[Stan__]

Here we go again…. more censorship. What is happening to this country. Looks like it is turning to North Korea. Communists……

 

[contacos]

More importantly, does that mean competition shows on streaming services will only be allowed to give out "golden apples" or "ugly dresses" instead of price money though?

 

[Putzytart]

I'm guessing this will also be an opportunity for them to change the TV Licence rules so that streaming non-live media on Apple TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video will now require a TV licence. It's no secret that the TV licence model doesn't currently have a future with so many people abandoning live TV.

 

[Marbles1]

I have no doubt Apple TV will be in compliance with any rules on 'harm, offense, accuracy, and impartiality'. They're the ultimate in sanitised, play it safe TV. E.g. they're have violence but only when contextually appropriate, they're always giving representation to multiple sides of an idea.

Unless you're spouting outright lies like China's CCTV/CGTN or Iran's "press TV" you're fine.

 

[phenste]

Couldn’t even get the name right of one of the streaming services in the government-sanctioned press release.

It’s really, genuinely worrisome to me that some of the most prominent governments in the world are legislating on things where they have no clue what they’re talking about.

 

[SurferPup]

Our ACMA could issue licensing for our free to air TV here as it wouldn't affect me - I don't it!

 

[Moonjumper]

It makes sense to have streaming media meet the same standards as broadcast and disc media, especially as it is sometimes the same content. The problem is those standards.

 

[Topfry]

currently you can’t even get BBC radio natively on homepods, whereas it’s on everything else; maybe get the BBC to follow their own charter first?

 

[SnowLucas]

It makes sense to have streaming media meet the same standards as broadcast and disc media, especially as it is sometimes the same content. The problem is those standards.

Which standards do you not agree with?

Seems strange to me for a country to have a set of regulations on the content you can watch on TV and then allow streaming services to do what they want. Which is what your saying as far as I can tell but I don’t really know of any really controversial standards we enforce in the U.K which is why I ask which ones you are suggesting.

 

[Glideslope]

The Brits at it again. More grabs at unearned income. Really should have thought about Brexit more thoroughly. ?

 

[Khedron]

Weird how when Apple bends over for the likes of China and Russia on human rights abuses then people are very accommodating "unfortunately Apple has no choice but to follow the law..." but when countries ask Apple to follow the law on things like tax and broadcasting regulations people complain that Apple is being unfairly treated the same as everyone else

 

[architect1337]

The Brits at it again. More grabs at unearned income. Really should have thought about Brexit more thoroughly. ?

You win the golden banana for the worst attempt to associate Brexit to any argument.

 

[pauloregan]

There should be a level playing field. If you enter a TV market for a specific country you should abide by the rules that country sets.

 

[T Coma]

The big question is how does “Ted Lasso” factor in to all of this.

 

[cgs1xx]

What a load of rubbish.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

By regulation they mean 'Please don't say bad things about our glorious leader Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson'

For anyone not in the UK, yes that is his real name.

Strong Britain, Great Nation

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

Here we go again…. more censorship. What is happening to this country. Looks like it is turning to North Korea. Communists……

Ah yes the Conservative party, notorious communists.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

You win the golden banana for the worst attempt to associate Brexit to any argument.

If that’s the worst you’ve seen you’ve been living a charmed life these past five years.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

I'm guessing this will also be an opportunity for them to change the TV Licence rules so that streaming non-live media on Apple TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video will now require a TV licence. It's no secret that the TV licence model doesn't currently have a future with so many people abandoning live TV.

That is already being rolled out.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Here we go again…. more censorship. What is happening to this country. Looks like it is turning to North Korea. Communists……

Eh? Neither of our main parties are communist, least of the Conservative party who are currently in office.
This will just mean that streaming platforms will have to adhere to broadcast regulations like other broadcasters. So far I haven’t seen any obvious violations by Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon, or Disney+.
I think the biggest thing in future though will be that they won’t be able to shove adverts in for too long like TV does in the USA & Canada, if they decide to insert adverts, and will have to state that product placement is present in TV shows & movies.

 

[Yorkshire Lad]

You win the golden banana for the worst attempt to associate Brexit to any argument.

Surely that should be a Golden Sausage (or is that only for Northern Ireland)?

There is a general consensus that this government doesn't like around half the current media (the half that keeps it to account) so a White Paper is not unexpected. But realistically, what can they do apart from make life harder for the linear broadcasters? Potentially, they could insist that any content "broadcast" into the UK has to pass through the British Board of Film Classification first, or adhere to Ofcom rules on impartiality but I'd be suprised if things like that weren't already happening, given that most streaming content is films that the BBFC would have seen already or TV shows that have already been broadcast on linear channels.

 

[mazz0]

Couldn’t even get the name right of one of the streaming services in the government-sanctioned press release.

It’s really, genuinely worrisome to me that some of the most prominent governments in the world are legislating on things where they have no clue what they’re talking about.

In their defence, Apple TV+ is a horrendously cumbersome name.

 

[Saturnine]

Here we go again…. more censorship. What is happening to this country. Looks like it is turning to North Korea. Communists……

Behave. This isn’t necessarily a good thing but there’s a massive gulf between regulation and censorship. And to compare it with communism is frankly stupid.

 

[visualseed]

Weird how when Apple bends over for the likes of China and Russia on human rights abuses then people are very accommodating "unfortunately Apple has no choice but to follow the law..." but when countries ask Apple to follow the law on things like tax and broadcasting regulations people complain that Apple is being unfairly treated the same as everyone else

There is a difference between having to follow existing bad laws that we don't agree with and criticizing proposed bad laws that have not come into being yet. If this comes into law, I would not fault Apple for complying with it.