Task 7: Regulatory frameworks

What is a regulatory body and what is a regulatory framework?

A regulatory body is an organisation where it can either public or government run, with this they can enforce standards and safety in order to protect the public from any misconducts made by consumer markets. Meanwhile a regulatory framework is a legal mechanism that can range in use from national to international levels and it's made up so it can protect against anti-corruption within a legal background. 

What is Ofcom, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

Ofcom (also known as The Office of Communications) is an government approved authority that overshadows primarily in television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors within the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2003. For what they do is that they overview any programme aired in the UK, where broadcaster have to follow a code that has 10 sections to it, if broken or complained about by large volume of viewers, then Ofcom has the right to investigate further into the matter so they can decide on whether it broke rules or not. Example of a piece of media being broadcast with complaints was back in March 2021, the morning television programme, Good Morning Britain, received over 50,000+ complaints following one of the presenters, Piers Morgan commented on the Duchess of Sussex's suicidal thoughts where he disregarded her opinion. This lead to this being the most complained about programme in Ofcom's history and was later investigated and came to the conclusion that the messages made by Morgan was indeed harmful and offensive to viewers and that reminded ITV, the channel that broadcasted the programme, that they should take greater care into the topic of mental health in the future to assure protection to viewers. 

What is the ASA, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

ASA, stands for The Advertising Standards Authority, is a regulatory service specifically for advertising within the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1962. For what they do is that monitor advertisements to make sure they are not misleading or harmful to the general public who will most likely view these adverts and also people can also take their complaints about adverts to the ASA as well. They follow two codes (one for broadcast and one for non-broadcast, which can also be known as CAP) which if broken can be investigated into the issue, and the advert could be pulled. Example of a ruling from November 2021, where it was advertising Verisure Services, a company that sells security cameras and other related accessories, in the advert it mentions about 'many burglaries happen during the holidays' which some people had made a complaint about the line being misleading. It was then investigated by the ASA which concluded that it was indeed misleading as they didn't have any evidence to back up the claim which lead to them saying that the advert should not appear with this information. 

What is the IPSO, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

IPSO, stand for Independent Press Standards Organisation, is a regulatory service which is specifically for magazines and newspapers within the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2014, taking the reign for regulation from the defunct PCC (Press Complaints Commission) following a phone hacking scandal in 2012. For what they do is that they is that when analysing through newspapers and magazines, they follow a code called the Editors' Code of Practice, where it's includes 16 clauses on how you should write the content and what is not allowed or advised by the service (example being; if the publisher was to create an article on children involved in sex cases, then the author of the article must not include the identity of the child while the adult can have their identity presented). 

What is the BBFC, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

BBFC, stands for The British Board of Film Classification, is an age rating system for film and video (such as television show to online content) used for the United Kingdom when it's released physically and was founded in 1912. This is in place to regulate what age group can watch, and this can range from U (Suitable for All), PG (Parental Guidance), 12A (Cinema specific, suitable for 12 and up but needs to be accompanied by an adult if under 12), 12 (for ages 12 and up), 15 (for ages 15 and up) and 18 (suitable for adults) including R18 (a specialised rating for adults, that need licensing when purchasing/viewing).

Examples of movies with these ratings; Shrek 2, a animated movie released in 2004 has the age rating, U for it's use of very mild language and comic fight scenes which means it suitable for all ages. While, Halloween, a horror movie released in 2018 has the age rating, 18 as the movie has strong bloody violence and gore which would only be suitable for over 18 year olds to watch/buy and the themes would be unsuitable for young children due to the graphic imagery within the movie.

What is PEGI, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

PEGI, stands for Pan European Game Information, is an age rating system for video games created for European audiences and was formed in 2003. This was so to label video games to the correct/recommended age they should play the game, the ratings go from 3 (meant for young children and above) up to 18 (for young adults and above) with 7,12,16 being in-between. Content descriptors are also used to pinpoint what themes are within a video game which can also help narrow down the suitable age rating. 

Examples of video games with these ratings; Grand Theft Auto V, a popular video game released back in 2013 has the 18 rating due to the content of the game containing Violence and Bad Language (with in-app purchases included) which is suitable for anyone aged 18 and above. While Mario Party, a recent video game released in 2021 has the 3 rating as it doesn't have any content warnings and labelled suitable for a young audience. 

What is the Creative Industries Council and what is their involvement with regulation?

The Creative Industries Council is a government run forum which is based around creative businesses and organisations. It focuses on the areas where barriers are most likely to appear within the creative sectors of the United Kingdom, the areas are specifically in; finance, skills, export markets, regulation, intellectual property and infrastructure. Their involvement within regulation is that it's an areas they work on for other businesses in order to keep them running and to protect employers within the creative industry.

How could this affect my business?

Regulatory frameworks would most likely affect my business because especially for when creating advertising content for clients, we have to be assured that what we are creating is suitable for the advertising authority (the ASA). If we broke one of their guidelines/created something offensive or misleading, this could lead to a negative public reception/popularity on both my business and the client's business. Ofcom wouldn't exactly affect my business since we don't plan to make programming for TV. IPSO would matter slightly if I ever decided to advertise the business in a magazine or newspaper. BBFC could affect my business as if we made a massive animation project that was being released (the project being possibly movie length wise), we might have to pay to get it regulated to the advised age range the project is suitable for viewing, though more of that content would be released online (as it's more accessible and easier to organise and release) and you would only have to choose between two options on YouTube for example to choose whose it suitable for. PEGI wouldn't be a issue since we don't plan to make video games, but even if we were commissioned to produce art or animation for a game, it would be up to the publishers/developers to work with PEGI and to decide the age rating. The Creative Industries Council would affect my business as they work with businesses to keep them stable and it would be great for my business as it would help out employees and to keep it active.