Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What challenges does media convergence create for media policy and regulation?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
media convergence
In addition to functioning as a cell phone, Apple's touchscreen iPhone, released in 2007, has a built-in Web browser for viewing Internet content over wireless telephone networks and Wi-Fi connections. The iPhone also can be used as a multimedia playback device for listening to music or viewing videos.
Media convergence creates significant challenges for policy and regulation because it decouples content from the specific devices and platforms that historically defined regulatory frameworks.12
For most of the 20th century, media regulation was platform-specific, with rules tailored to the unique characteristics of mediums like radio, television, or print. Today, digital content is accessible across multiple devices, rendering these traditional "silos" obsolete. Key regulatory challenges include:12
- Shifting Roles: Users are no longer just consumers; they are now active producers and distributors of content, complicating traditional oversight.1
- Industry Transformation: Technology companies, such as Apple, Inc. and Google, Inc., have become dominant global distributors of media, often operating outside the scope of legacy media regulations.1
- Policy Objectives: Maintaining long-standing goals—such as ensuring diversity of ownership, upholding community standards, and enforcing local content requirements—is increasingly difficult in a globalized, digital environment.1
Ultimately, policymakers must navigate an environment where users exert greater control over their own media consumption, challenging the effectiveness of centralized regulatory approaches.1