Media Ownership Bill 2017

Public bill · Private Member · Introduced

Would update Ireland’s media competition rules so regulators look beyond newspaper sales and radio listenership and also count combined digital reach across media platforms when judging how much influence a media owner may have. It would also let the Minister take retroactive action if one media asset is found to hold significant interests across a sector or multiple media businesses. The aim is to protect diverse ownership, prevent excessive media concentration, and reflect how people now consume news and content online.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to amend the Competition Act 2002 in order to retrospectively and hereinafter protect both diversity of ownership and control of media businesses in the State and the plurality of the media to include content in the context of a changed media environment where readership and listenership figures are not adequate measures of potential reach

Last updated 12 April 2018