Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Paragraph: 96
Where an established media brand is providing programming, it is not right to make the...
Conclusion
Where an established media brand is providing programming, it is not right to make the default assumption that YouTube’s contribution to the viewer deciding to watch that programme, and therefore its share of the value chain, is the same as where content is user-generated. For news, this approach would, if allowed to continue, over time erode the ability of PSBs such as ITV and Channel 4 to actually produce quality, well-researched news coverage. The Digital Markets Unit should also consider whether the standard terms and conditions for revenue sharing which are used by some platforms offer a fair return for PSBs in exchange for their content.
Paragraph Reference:
96
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government announced the introduction of a new pro-competition regime for digital markets in November 2020. In April this year a new regulator, the Digital Markets Unit (DMU), was launched to ensure digital firms with substantial and enduring market power cannot exploit their positions in ways that harm consumers and businesses. This will allow for more proactive oversight and swifter action to address competition concerns in fast- moving digital markets. The new Unit will take a sector-neutral approach, examining the role of platforms across a range of digital markets with a view to promoting competition. A central part of the new regime will be a mandatory code of conduct to govern the relationships between digital platforms with substantial and enduring market power and different groups of users which rely on their services. The Government has asked the DMU to look at how a code would address the harms resulting from market dominance in specific sectors of the digital economy, including how it would govern the relationships between platforms and content producers such as news publishers. The Government will consult on the new pro-competition regime this year and legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows.