Consultation on updating the media mergers regime to include online news
UIN: HCWS191 The government is committed to a pluralistic media landscape, where citizens are able to access information from a range of sources in order to form opinions. The public’s ability to access a wide range of news, views and information about the world in wh...
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Skip to main content
UK Parliament
Business
Written questions, answers and statements
Find written statements
HCWS191
Consultation on updating the media mergers regime to include online news
Statement made on 6 November 2024
Statement UIN HCWS191
Statement made by
Stephanie Peacock
Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth
Labour
Barnsley South
Commons
Statement
The government is committed to a pluralistic media landscape, where citizens are able to access information from a range of sources in order to form opinions. The public’s ability to access a wide range of news, views and information about the world in which we live is central to the health of our democracy.
The Enterprise Act 2002 gives the Secretary of State the power to intervene in media mergers if she believes one or more public interest considerations may be relevant. The Secretary of State may ultimately order a media merger to be blocked or unwound if she decides that it has operated or may be expected to operate against the public interest.
However, the media landscape has changed significantly since the Enterprise Act became law more than two decades ago. The world has changed; Ofcom’s news consumption survey, published in September 2024, shows over two thirds (71%) of UK adults now access news online. It is essential that our regimes move with the times, are fit for purpose, and are future-proofed to protect the availability of a wide range of accurate and high-quality news, particularly for younger audiences, as technology and news habits evolve.
To reflect the way news is increasingly consumed and the need to protect the freedom of the press as a cornerstone of democracy, I am today launching a six week technical public consultation on expanding the legislation which governs media mergers, to allow the Secretary of State to intervene in mergers involving a wider range of print news publications, online news publications and news programmes. This follows advice from Ofcom as part of its 2021 Statement on the Future of Media Plurality.
The consultation will seek views from industry, Parliament, and the public, on whether our proposed updates to the regime achieve our desired effects.
Statement from
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Linked statements
This statement has also been made in the House of Lords
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Consultation on updating the media mergers regime to include online news
Baroness Twycross
Minister for Gambling and DCMS Lords Minister
Labour, Life peer
Statement made 6 November 2024
HLWS189
Lords