Regulation - What is it and why do we need it?

Who regulates what in the UK?

• TV, Radio and Streaming/on demand TV are regulated by Ofcom
• Newspapers and Magazines are regulated by either IPSO or IMPRESS, depending on who the publication have chosen.
• The internet is not regulated by any regulatory body, but a lot of sites self-regulate (such as YouTube, which rely upon the audience flagging and reporting inappropriate content).
• Video games are regulated by PEGI.
• Films are regulated by the BBFC.

Click on this image and scroll down to the bottom of the website. There is a pictochart to help you to find out...

Discuss: What are the advantages and disadvantages of regulation?

Clues: accuracy, advice, privacy, extreme censorship and unfair restrictions...

Research: How is Minecraft regulated? Look into PEGI ratings, but also consider YouTube or Twitch videos, fansites etc. Consider how Microsoft producing Minecraft has affected the levels of regulation for the game. You can click on the image at the top of this blog for more information about PEGI regulation.

Revise Theory:

Regulation – Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt

Livingstone and Lunt studied four case studies of the work of Ofcom.

Ofcom is serving an audience who may be seen as consumers and/or citizens, with consequences for regulation: consumers have wants, are individuals, seek private benefits from the media, use the language of choice, and require regulation to protect against detriment; citizens have needs, are social, seek public or social benefits from the media, use the language of rights, and require regulation to promote the public interest.

Traditional regulation is being put at risk by: increasingly globalised media industries, the rise of the digital media, and media convergence.*

*Media convergence is a term that can refer to either: 1) the merging of previously distinct media technologies and media forms due to digitisation and computer networking; or 2) an economic strategy in which the media properties owned by communications companies employ digitisation and computer networking to work together.

Task:

So, if traditional regulation is being put at risk by: increasingly globalised media industries, the rise of the digital media and media convergence, what does this have to do with Minecraft?

Complete the following sentences:

Livingstone and Lunt believe that media regulation is at risk because....

This is not relevant to Minecraft because...

However, ...

Next Steps: This is from the OCR produced Minecraft booklet, which would be useful to read through. Click here for your own copy to print out for your revision folder. Click here for the PEGI website.

The regulatory framework of contemporary media in the UK and the impact of the 'new' technologies on media regulation, including the role of individual producers.

The UK Video Standards Council which applies the PEGI rating system to Minecraft. It is regarded as being family friendly and the initial Minecraft series was rated a PEGI 7 but the later introduction of Minecraft Stories were classified higher because narratives and dialogue were being introduced. You could consider whether a game such as Minecraft even needs regulating and perhaps consider more the impact of freely available, fan-made videos where language and content is likely to be more risgue and unregulated by such bodies. A direct comparison to similar games and their ratings would also fuel debate, eg: Tetris is a PEGI 3.
It is also worth considering how material is accessed and played. Minecraft Realms are hosted on specialised servers by Mojang. The terms and conditions are extensive and bring into debate issues of ownership of intellectual content and the disclaimers that now have to be issued by media industries. Most interestingly, there are stipulations by the company that they own everything created using blacks within these virtual worlds and that accreditation for worlds and structures created by fans is not guaranteed.

Finished: Watch this video. Although it is based on the US, it is interesting and you could research the differences between US and UK regulation.