Call for Evidence

Background

Media literacy, as defined by Ofcom, is “the ability to use, understand and create media and communications across multiple formats and services”.[1] According to the regulator’s strategy, “advancing media literacy to support people to navigate content safely, and to flourish online, is increasingly essential to our daily lives.”[2]

Analysis suggests, however, that the UK is falling behind in this critical area. The country ranked 13 in the Open Society Institute’s Media Literacy Index: 2023,[3] dropping from 11th in 2022[4] and 10th in 2021.[5] Only 45% of UK adults are confident they can judge whether sources of information are truthful, and only 30% feel confident judging whether content is AI generated.[6]

Meanwhile, young children are increasingly present online, with a third of those aged five to seven accessing social media unsupervised.[7] Recent research highlights the threats of online conspiracy theories and misogyny in schools.[8] Yet media literacy teaching has been described as a “postcode lottery”, as a result of piecemeal curriculum guidance. Some 90% of teachers want to see media literacy explicitly incorporated into the national curriculum.[9]

Wider media literacy initiatives face long-standing challenges including short-term and small-scale funding that leads to fragmentation and duplication; limited coordination among stakeholders; and a lack of clear benchmarks for evaluating success.[10]

Inquiry aims

Our inquiry will seek to establish a clear vision for what good media literacy should look like in the UK, and examine the barriers to achieving this vision. The inquiry will clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Government, industry and regulators in advancing media literacy, and assess the extent to which each sector is currently fulfilling its duties. It will identify and prioritise the key actions required to enhance media literacy skills across the population, to enable citizens to engage with the digital world safely and responsibly. 

[1] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/making-sense-of-media/media-literacy/ofcoms-three-year-media-literacy-strategy-final.pdf?v=382044

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://osis.bg/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MLI-report-in-English-22.06.pdf

[4] Ibid.

[5] https://osis.bg/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MediaLiteracyIndex2021_ENG.pdf

[6] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/attitudes-to-news/four-in-10-uk-adults-encounter-misinformation/

[7] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/media-habits-children/a-window-into-young-childrens-online-worlds/

[8] https://counteringconspiracies.publicfirst.co.uk/ ; https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299339

[9] https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/research/media-literacy-report-2024/

[10] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651167fabf7c1a0011bb4660/cross-sectoral_challenges_to_media_literacy.pdf

Key questions

1. What are the overall aims of delivering media literacy in the UK?

a. How would you define media literacy? What would ‘good’ media literacy look like?

b. What are the risks and consequences of not achieving these aims?

c. What indicators or evidence would demonstrate improvement?

2. How well are existing UK media literacy initiatives working, and how could they be enhanced?

a. How are responsibilities currently split between different stakeholders, such as the Government, industry, and civil society, and could improvements be made to these arrangements?

b. Which other actors (including online platforms) have a role to play in improving media literacy in the UK?

c. Are there examples of good practice on a local or regional level that could be scaled more widely across the UK?

3. How will media literacy need to evolve over the next five years to keep up with changes in the media landscape and technological advancements?

4. How does the UK’s approach to media literacy compare with that of other countries? What international best practice could be adopted or adapted here?

5. How adequately is the UK's regulatory and legislative framework delivering media literacy?

a. What is your assessment of Ofcom’s media literacy strategy?

b. What further action is needed from the Government, if any?

c. Are changes needed to legislation, for example the Online Safety Act 2023 or the Media Act 2024?

6. What is the role of formal education in relation to media literacy?

a. How effectively is media literacy being taught in schools at present? How can critical thinking best be taught?

b. What interventions are needed to support the delivery of media literacy education in schools, for example changes to the national curriculum and to teacher training?

c. How should approaches to media literacy education vary according to age group?

d. What are the opportunities to engage children and young people in media literacy programmes outside formal education?

7. What are the barriers and challenges to teaching media literacy to adults?

a. How could these be overcome?

Guidance for submissions

Written submissions should be submitted online in Word document format by clicking the “Start” button at the bottom of this page. All submissions submitted online will be acknowledged automatically.

If you have difficulty submitting your document, please contact the staff of the committee at holcommunications@parliament.uk.

The deadline for submissions is 5.00pm on Friday 11 April.

Short submissions are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include a one-page summary. Paragraphs should be numbered. Submissions should be dated, with a note of the author’s name, and of whether the author is making the submission on an individual basis or on behalf of an organisation.

Personal contact details will be removed from submissions before publication but will be retained by the committee staff for specific purposes relating to the committee’s work, such as seeking additional information.

Evidence which is accepted by the committee may be published online at any stage. When it is published it becomes subject to parliamentary copyright and is protected by parliamentary privilege. Submissions which have been published previously will not be accepted as evidence.

Once your submission has been accepted you will receive a further email, and at this point you may publicise or publish your evidence yourself. In doing so you must indicate that it was prepared for the committee, and you should be aware that your publication or re-publication of your evidence may not be protected by parliamentary privilege.

Substantive communications to the committee about the inquiry should be addressed through the clerk of the committee, whether or not they are intended to constitute formal evidence to the committee.

This is a public call for evidence. Please bring it to the attention of other groups and individuals who may not have received a copy directly.

Diversity comes in many forms and hearing a range of different perspectives means that committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of an issue under investigation by a select committee to share their views with the committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome.

You may follow the progress of the inquiry at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9030/media-literacy/.