MeCCSA 2010 Day 1

I'm at the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA) conference this year hosted by the Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science. It's been an interesting first day with the opening plenary session being the most interesting and relevant for me. Chris Woolard of OFCOM spoke highlighting current concerns over the need to review regulations on advertising in regards to air time rules and coverage for public service broadcasting. He also alluded to the Digital Economy Bil, copyright, piracy and data protection stating that there should be sensitivity to market pressures that content media providers are under.

Again, without going into any depth, he also noted concern over net neutrality and what he calls the need for traffic management. Perhaps most interestingly was his discussion of data and "fair use" that he described as the need to balance rights of individuals with the commercial imperatives. Alluding to Directive 95/46/EC he observed that personal data is now the "oil of the internet" and that a range of new models are springing up to take advantage of data. Further, in regards to education, Woolard stated that whatever model comes out of this is that it is paramount that citizens are media/data literate and that citizens must be informed.

Others spoke, but my interest was most keenly awakened by Katharine Sarikakis (University of Leeds) who also highlighted the need to make sure citizens have understanding of modern communications and data flows. Noting disparity between the UK and Europe she observed that strong legislation is needed to determine modern communications structures. She also highlighted recent concerns in regards to Phorm, their two early tests and RIPA.

It's early days but it could get interesting!

My paper to be delivered Friday can be found here with all other papers available from the conference site here.