Those of us in the Internet biz missed Lord Currie’s call for an open debate about Internet regulation, delivered to a luvvie crowd at the Royal Television Society Fleming Memorial Lecture on 11 October - here’s the relevant bit in what he said (edited for space):
“The challenge for policymakers will arise at the point where traditional broadcasting and internet-based delivery truly blur. This is not esoteric future-gazing; we are close to this point now.
“To be clear, this is not a plea for Ofcom�s rulebook to be extended. It is, if anything, the opposite; a plea for honesty in the debate which must follow � in society, in industry and in Parliament � about what is appropriate and necessary in the future.
“Television places the onus upon the supplier � the broadcaster � to ensure that the content is fit for consumption. Where that duty is not met, the viewer complains, and the regulator acts. But in the internet world, that same onus falls on the user � empowered by smart search engines, filtering software, parental controls and the like.
“It would be a mistake to assume this debate should begin by assessing how the old template of television regulation could simply be stretched and remodelled to absorb and control the world of content delivered via IP. Equally, however, it cannot assume that self-regulation by a provider and caveat emptor by the user will in all circumstances be the answer in this new world.
“We are clearly in a transitional phase. So where I believe this debate needs to begin is in developing a clear-sighted social compact on where user protections remain absolutely essential - child protection being an obvious case in point - and then focusing on how to deliver this more concentrated set of social objectives. But debate there needs to be.”
OfComwatch looks forward to that debate in 2005.