Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Co-regulation - Ofcom's view

Ofcom has released its final post-consultation report on its approach to co-regualation - the result of a 2-year process. It is largely a very well-written and researched and sensible document - I would have liked more emphasis on sustainability and 'mission creep' of self- and co-regulatory bodies but that's my report for the EXC - if you want your own work, write it yourself!

Excellent work by Tom Keidrowski and his team!
"We also received a link to the RAND study for the European Commission in the response
from Dr. Chris Marsden. The study examined a range of national schemes, including the
IMCB, ATVOD, ICSTIS, Nominet and IWF in the UK, as part of an evaluation of potential coand
self-regulatory solutions for online services. Similarly to our view - that a spectrum of
options is available when addressing particular issues -, the RAND study proposes a
‘Beaufort scale of self-regulation’ based on the degree of government intervention. While the
published study was an evaluation of schemes, it veered toward a view that there was merit
in considering co-regulation rather than purely self-regulation in many instances."