The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has today
launched a new inquiry into media literacy.
Media literacy is crucial to ensure individuals can understand,
and make informed decisions about, what they see, hear and read
in both traditional and online media. Research suggests there is
room for improvement in this area in the UK. According to Ofcom,
only 45% of UK adults are confident they can judge whether
sources of information are truthful. Just 30% are confident they
can identify whether content is AI generated. Children and young
people, who are increasingly active online, face challenges in
recognising online advertising, and distinguishing between real
and fake content.
Despite its importance, media literacy initiatives have suffered
from short-term and small-scale funding. While media literacy is
taught in some schools, it does not form part of the national
curriculum.
Launching the inquiry , Chair of the Committee,
said:
“The ability to critically analyse media, communications and
online content is of increasing importance to us all. Being media
literate can help protect people of all ages from scams,
disinformation and exposure to harmful content.
“As online AI tools become increasingly powerful it is vital that
the public can understand what they are seeing and why. The fact
that less than a third of adults are confident they can identify
AI-generated content is deeply concerning.
“We want to understand how the UK can get better at media
literacy. We are falling behind internationally, so it is
important to examine what we can do to improve media literacy
education both in schools and into adulthood.
“The strength of our inquiry will depend on the quality of the
evidence we receive, so I would encourage anyone with knowledge
or an interest in this area to submit their evidence to us by 11
April.”
The full call for evidence is available on the
Committee's webpage. Areas the Committee are inviting evidence on
include:
- What should be the overall aims of delivering media literacy
in the UK? What would ‘good' media literacy look like?
- How well are current media literacy initiatives working? What
role should the Government, regulators, industry and civil
society play?
- Are there examples of good practice in the UK that can be
rolled out more widely? Can the UK learn lessons from other
countries on improving media literacy?
- How will approaches to media literacy need to develop over
the next five years to keep pace with technological change?
- Does the UK have the right regulatory and legislative
framework for delivering media literacy?
- What is the role of formal education in improving media
literacy? Are changes needed, for example to the national
curriculum or teacher training, to improve media literacy
education in schools?
The Committee are inviting written evidence to be
submitted by Friday 11 April.
