As Stephen Carter spoke to the eForum, so David Currie was at ISPA (good to see speeches put online so quickly):
“We want to look to the future so that we can anticipate and respond to the changing market. This programme of work will cover three areas:
1. digital multi-media platforms
2. second generation broadband
3. broadcast content production
Each review will be thorough and result in published research and proposals for consultation. Together, they will address the regulatory issues associated with content becoming available via a range of different platforms and the interchangeable use of technology by consumers.
We will examine technology trends, digital rights, perceptions of citizens and consumers and look at approaches taken elsewhere in Europe and internationally. In doing so, we hope to facilitate a wide-ranging debate about whether content, including internet content, could or should be regulated in a more converged world, and if so, how.
We will be considering important questions such as:
Whether the current model of regulating broadcast content is sustainable
Whether a consistent or platform-neutral approach to content regulation - looking beyond traditional broadcasting - is desirable or, indeed, practicable
How consumer protection can be balanced against the rights of others
The extent to which citizens and consumers will be able to control access to content themselves using tools such as parental controls
Content drivers for the take-up of second generation services such as video-on-demand and online gaming
The impact of digital platforms in terms of changing methods of distribution of content, new business models for paying for content and the implications this may have for regulation in the future
Let’s be clear. Our objective is to create an environment which will help markets to grow; not to stifle innovation.”