Bright-Line versus Responsive Regulation: Some Thoughts from the United Kingdom

Abstract

State intervention in support of media plurality has traditionally employed fixed ownership limits targeted either at holdings within a specific media sector, for instance, television, or across different sectors, such as television and the printed press. As technological developments have enhanced the range and diversity of media goods and services, so ‘bright-line’ regulation of this kind has come to appear unduly rigid and out of step with the converging media environment. Ten years ago the United Kingdom (UK) embarked on a novel experiment, replacing fixed limits with a flexible, multifaceted test for assessing media plurality. This framework for measuring ‘media plurality’ has, however, come under increasing scrutiny as both procedural and substantive problems have become evident. Sophistication can lead to better targeted and effective regulatory intervention, but it can also increase subjective discretion, obscure important value choices, impose considerable costs on industry, and reduce levels of public transparency and accountability.