UK media merger law needs to be modernised

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced plans to broaden the scope of the UK’s media merger regime and adapt it to the digital age to reflect modern news consumption habits and better protect media freedom and plurality.

The plans will allow, in the public interest, greater scrutiny of deals to purchase UK online news publications and news magazines that could negatively impact accurate reporting, freedom of expression and media plurality; by expanding the reach of the regime beyond television, radio and print newspapers as it currently stands.

Currently, the media mergers regime set out in the Enterprise Act 2002 allows the Secretary of State for Culture to intervene in mergers and acquisitions of broadcasters (defined as services requiring a license under the Broadcasting Act 1996), as well as UK daily and Sunday newspapers , and local periodicals, which circulate mainly in Great Britain.

The media landscape has changed considerably since the Enterprise Act came into effect more than twenty years ago. Reflecting the way news is increasingly consumed online and the need to protect press freedom as a cornerstone of democracy, the Culture Secretary today launched a consultation seeking views on expanding the regime’s reach for media mergers into online news publications and weekly or monthly print news publications.

Culture Minister Lisa Nandy said: “Since the media mergers regime came into force more than two decades ago, our laws have failed to keep pace with technology and evolving news consumption habits.

“Now that people are increasingly getting their news online, we need a regime that is future-proof. That is why I am proposing further reforms to protect the availability of accurate, high-quality news from a variety of sources and ensure media freedom is maintained.”

Mergers involving companies that own online news publications linked to Britain, for example online-only news providers such as HuffPost or The independentor the online branches of print publications – would now fall within the scope of the media merger regime. This would mean that the Minister of Culture has the option to intervene in a merger that meets certain conditions regarding turnover or supply share, where, in his opinion, a consideration of public interest may be relevant. According to Ofcom’s annual report on news consumption in Britain, almost a quarter of British adults (22 percent) access news through print newspapers, rising to 34 percent if they include their online platforms.

The consultation also proposes bringing news publications distributed weekly or monthly – such as The Economist or Prospect – within the scope of the regime to ensure that legislation is fit for purpose and accurately reflects how people consume news; given daily, local and Sunday publications are already included.

The measures would ensure the public interest can be safeguarded through these popular news sources to people across the UK. It would allow the Minister of Culture to intervene where necessary to protect the availability of a wide range of accurate and high-quality news, especially for younger audiences as technology and news habits evolve.

Pending the completion of the consultation, the proposed changes to the Enterprise Act will be implemented through secondary legislation. The proposed inclusion of online news sites will apply to both the public interest media merger regime and the new foreign state influence regime. The powers would not apply retrospectively to historical transactions.

The proposed reforms ensure a proportionate approach that reflects the way modern news is consumed, without putting undue pressure on businesses. They follow advice received by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport from the independent regulator Ofcom as part of its statutory review of the operation of media ownership rules, and do not involve any regulation of the editorial content of a news broadcast .

Britain has a strong track record of encouraging investment that has been vital to growth within the media and wider creative industries, and this pro-growth government will continue that trend, protecting freedom of expression and creating a robust provide a framework that encourages media plurality.