Content needs self-regulation
A new report by UNSW鈥檚 Journalism and Media Research Centre argues that Australia鈥檚 media content regulation system is broken and that it is time for a full review to manage content in the 21st century.
media content governance.
Associate Professor Crawford noted that Australian approaches to content management are still grounded in an era when media was produced by professionals in discreet silos 鈥� such as print, radio, and TV.
鈥淭he internet is not a new medium,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is a new media environment, where all forms of content circulate and are recirculated, marked by an unprecedented diversity of users and producers. We need a fresh and adaptive approach.鈥�
The report also argues that industry needs to commit to monitored and robust codes of practice and that they need to ensure users have the tools to notify inappropriate content and a say in how platforms are developed and data is managed.
A cornerstone of ensuring user agency, according to the report, is a clear commitment by industry and government to funding lifelong education around digital literacy, security and the ethics of media use and production. They argue that both government and industry have a role in resourcing this education and that we need a national curriculum which focuses on these issues.
鈥淲e no longer live in a time where governments can exercise a top-down approach to pre-vetting all media content and acting as all-seeing gatekeepers,鈥� said Professor Lumby. 鈥淲e welcome this opportunity to contribute to the Federal Government鈥檚 Convergence Review.鈥�
Provided by University of New South Wales
