Hong Kong leader vows support for media’s global reach, to review TV practice code

Hong Kong's leader, John Lee Ka-chiu, has pledged to bolster the local media industry's global reach and update television broadcasting regulations to remain current. In the city's inaugural five-year strategy and policy statement released on Wednesday, Lee highlighted the need to bolster the mainstream media's international reach and assist media in expanding their networks beyond Hong Kong to share positive stories about the city.

The government will review the Generic Codes of Practice for Television to ensure that regulation keeps pace with the times and that diverse and high-quality programs are broadcast, expanding the "Hong Kong Brand" to the Asia-Pacific region. Both the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong News Executives' Association welcomed the government's support for the media in these plans.

They believe that such strategic direction and policy assistance will boost media development and competitiveness, allowing the industry to adapt to the rapid technological changes and challenging operating environment it currently faces. The association stated that the government's backing over the past year has enabled media organizations to broaden their networks outside Hong Kong and explore new avenues to improve their competitiveness.

Lawmaker Christine Fong Kwok-shan expressed concern that traditional broadcasters are subject to stringent advertising and content restrictions, while streaming platforms and social media like Netflix and YouTube operate with limited regulation, potentially siphoning away advertising revenue. Fong hopes the updated codes will enable broadcasters to diversify their revenue streams through more flexible sponsorship arrangements.

She also raised concerns about generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools scraping news and multimedia content without licensing, which could diminish the value of original intellectual property. Fong suggested the government should take the lead in establishing guidelines or a legal framework to protect copyright content created by media from AI data mining.

However, lawmaker Elizabeth Quat argued that AI's emergence has complicated copyright issues, making it difficult to determine ownership when AI generates content independently rather than directly copying it. Quat also noted that while the code of practice for television has been largely unchanged for many years, it must now contend with the evolving industry and the growth of the multimedia ecosystem.