Industry-level self- and co-regulation in media and communications

This chapter provides an overview of insights from research on self- and co-regulation in media and communications. It shows patterns of application of alternative modes of regulation in the convergent communications sector and findings from evaluations of legitimacy, performance and governance choice. Self-regulation has a long tradition in media and communications governance, especially in journalism and advertising. Globalization, liberalization and convergence have prompted major changes in governance arrangements, including the growing role of industry-level self- and co-regulation for addressing challenges such as the technical standardization of the internet, the protection of minors and the proliferation of problematic content online. However, in the context of platformization, regulatory problems have been aggravated and the weaknesses of alternative regulatory solutions have become more prominent. Confidence in industry self-regulation has therefore declined and regulatory initiatives indicating greater state intervention are on the rise.