Open and Innovative Media Regulations

In an era of ubiquitous connections, media regulations need to be open and innovative.“It’s an irreversible trend,” says Mr. Yan Chengsheng, Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation Department, State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China, in his speech at the AMS plenary session on “Towards Robust and Effective Media Regulation: Opportunities and Challenges".

In an era of ubiquitous connections, media regulations need to be open and innovative.

“It’s an irreversible trend,” says Mr. Yan Chengsheng, Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation Department, State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China, in his speech at the AMS plenary session on “Towards Robust and Effective Media Regulation: Opportunities and Challenges”, held on 6 May 2014 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Yan cited Cisco statistics and said approximately 50 billion objects, people, data and things will be connected to the Internet by 2020, and regulations need to be more transparent to catch up with the emerging media landscape.

On the socialization of content production, he said the big challenge is how to maintain professional ethics.

There are other big challenges broadcasters face, in particular in the convergence of various transmission means. “How do we overcome the fragmented regulation system to minimize policy barriers?" he asked.

Mr. Yan also cited the issue dealing with diversified service modes, saying there is a need to improve intellectual property right protection for integrated media.

He also touched on information technology advancement, and how we can strike a balance between the protection of public security and pursuing of innovation and freedom.

Another session speaker was Dr Venkat Iyer, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Ulster, United Kingdom, who spoke, among others, about another tension dealing with regulation and freedom of expression.

He said such tension can be resolvedby a number of legal, economic, ethical, cultural and practical safeguards. He acknowledged the need for variable approaches between media sectorsand inevitability of differences in approaches and outcomes between countries.

“Broadcasters must also recognise changing media environment, cultural shifts and advances in technologyand the centrality of the ‘public interest’ goal and the importance of identifying relevant public interest factors,” he pointed out.