Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Paragraph: 39
Amend Bill to enable Ofcom to de-designate legacy devices from provisions.
Recommendation
There is broad agreement between platforms and broadcasters on the need for provision in the Bill to ensure legacy devices can be exempted from requirements on radio selection services. We believe that allowing Ofcom to exempt some previously- designated devices on legacy grounds would address this issue. We recommend the Bill be amended to enable Ofcom to de-designate legacy devices so that they are no longer subject to the provisions.
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation and amended the Bill to include a specific process for radio selection services (RSS) to apply for de-designation of legacy devices.
Paragraph Reference:
39
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We welcome the Committee’s feedback in relation to this issue. The provisions contained within this Part of the Bill are device-neutral (in contrast to those relating to online television prominence), and intended to apply to the voice-activated services which process the responses to listener commands wherever those services may be found. However, the Government recognises that there may be situations where de-designation of a service is required (i.e. where a significant number of users no longer access radio from it), and the Bill has been amended to include a specific process for an RSS to apply for de-designation.