The Government has responded to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s Report on Media Literacy, ruling out a levy on technology companies to fund media literacy efforts.

We commented previously on the Committee’s report here. It was a sobering account of the decline in media literacy in the UK at a time when misinformation and disinformation was on the rise. In the Committee’s opinion, this combination meant that social cohesion and democracy was under threat and that “the Government and Ofcom have failed to meet the mounting scale of the challenge”.

Unsurprisingly, the Government’s response disagrees with this assessment, and points to a number of initiatives aimed at improving media literacy, from the Online Media Literacy Strategy and the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, to the work of Ofcom as it implements the Online Safety Act 2023.

One of the Committee’s central criticisms was a lack of joined-up work on media literacy. The Government agrees, and has confirmed that it will develop a ‘Media Literacy Vision Statement’ which will “set out a shared vision for media literacy in the UK, articulating cross-government commitments and outlining how media literacy will be embedded across key policy areas including education, public services, digital inclusion, and community resilience. It will serve as a unifying framework that aligns departmental activity, supports strategic coherence, and ensures media literacy is recognised as a vital enabler of democratic participation and digital confidence”. It will also publish a Local Media Strategy before the end of this year.

Finally, on the Committee’s recommendation that the Government should introduce a levy on online platforms to secure long-term funding of media literacy initiatives, the Government states that it understands the rationale for such a levy, but that the current “dynamic funding landscape” which includes support from government, local authorities, civil society and technology platforms “offers a more effective and inclusive foundation [and] encourages collaboration across sectors, supports voluntary investment and aligns with statutory responsibilities”. Additionally, the Government warns that a levy on tech platforms could limit innovation and may “introduce challenges for platforms [and] reduce the sector’s ability to respond quickly to emerging risks”.

To read the Government’s response in full, click here.