Online regulation ‘a fool’s errand’

Ofcom should focus on broadband accessibility for all rather than online regulation, according to the Guardian’s director of digital content, Emily Bell.

Thursday, 20 November 2008

Speaking at a Royal Television Society debate last night, Bell described the role of chair of Ofcom as “the job from hell”, before going on to describe online regulation as “a fool’s errand”.

While she acknowledged that regulation could be “a huge job opportunity for Ofcom”, Bell argued that there were more important issues for the regulator to address: “The key concerns should be about accessibility rather than regulatory issues that Ofcom can’t control”.

Discussing access to broadband, Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster, echoed Bell’s views, arguing that the regulator should place greater emphasis on “the principle of universality, regardless of ability to pay”.

Fellow panelist at the event, John Whittingdale MP, Chairman of the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, argued that there was still much to be done in terms of policing the internet, but that this was not necessarily something that should fall under Ofcom’s remit.

“I’d like to see a self-regulatory system put in place,” said the Conservative MP for Maldon and East Chelmsford. “But in order to achieve this you need someone behind them waving a stick”.

The panelists were speaking at a Royal Television Society event entitled ‘If I were Ofcom’s next Chair’. Also speaking at the event was Sir Christopher Bland, Former Chairman of the BBC and BT, who praised Ofcom for its role in the evolution of the online sector in the UK. “Broadband is now a reality,” he said. “Ofcom deserves credit for that.”


Photo credit: Simon Albury