Citizens and consumers: discursive debates during and after the Communications Act 2003

The regulation of media and communications in the UK has recently been subject to reform resulting in the creation of the Office of Communications (Ofcom). This statutory body, established by an Act of Parliament, is a new, sector-wide regulator, protecting the interests of what has been termed the ‘citizen-consumer’. This article charts the discursive shifts that occurred during the passage of the Communications Act through Parliament and in the initial stages of its implementation to understand how and why the term ‘citizen-consumer’ came to lie at the heart of the new regulator’s mission. By critically analysing the various alignments of ‘citizen’ and ‘consumer’ interests within the debates, the underlying struggles over the formulation of power, responsibility and duties for the new regulator and for other stakeholders – industry, government and public – are identified. The article concludes that the legacy of these debates is that regulatory provisions designed to further the ‘citizen interest’ contain significant and unresolved dilemmas.

英国的媒体和通信监管近期经历了改革，由此成立了通信管理局（Ofcom）。这个由议会法案设立的法定机构是一个全新的、涵盖整个行业的监管机构，保护所谓“公民 - 消费者”的利益。本文梳理了《通信法》在议会审议过程中以及在其实施初期所发生的话语转变，以了解“公民 - 消费者”一词如何以及为何成为新监管机构使命的核心。通过批判性地分析辩论中“公民”和“消费者”利益的各种组合，识别出围绕新监管机构以及其他利益相关者（行业、政府和公众）的权力、责任和义务制定所产生的潜在斗争。文章得出结论，这些辩论的遗留问题是，旨在促进“公民利益”的监管规定包含重大且未解决的困境。