Children’s TV and video content: MPs to question TikTok, Instagram, Paramount and Sky
Representatives from TikTok and Instagram will give evidence to MPs during a session which will examine the use of the video-sharing platforms by young people.
Meeting details
The hearing, part of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s children’s TV and video content inquiry, will also hear from executives from Sky and Paramount, the owners of Channel 5 and Nickelodeon, on their role in providing children’s programming.
In written evidence to the inquiry, both Paramount and Sky have expressed concerns about the declining commercial viability of making television for children. Paramount, which provides programmes under the Milkshake! Banner on 5 and for Nickelodeon, continues to invest in UK-originated pre-school programmes, while Sky announced last year that it would no longer commission original children’s content.
There are likely to be questions about their respective business models, their approach to working with video-sharing platforms such as YouTube and what steps the Government might take to support the production of high-quality children’s programming and content.
The second part of the session, with TikTok and Instagram’s parent company Meta, will explore issues related to regulation, the online platforms’ work with public service broadcasters and how children use their apps to access news content.
MPs are also likely to ask about safety features, parental controls and access to educational content.
The Committee previously took evidence from Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Greg Childs from the Children’s Media Foundation, and held sessions on the challenges faced by those producing content and the health, learning and development aspects of what children watch and how they watch it.
The inquiry has also heard from BBC executives and representatives of YouTube.