Commentary on Sections Part 5: Competition in Communications Markets Chapter 2: Media mergers Section 382: General information duties in relation to media mergers
830.This section amends section 105 EA 2002 to ensure that, where a media public interest consideration is invoked, OFCOM, as well as the OFT and the Competition Commission, will have general information duties vis-à-vis those that might be affected by the merger, each other and the Secretary of State.
831.Subsection (2) inserts a new section 105(1A) EA 2002 to ensure that where OFCOM are required to produce a report on any media public interest consideration, they will act, if practicable, to bring cases that they are investigating to the attention of those that might be affected by the transaction. The effect of the amendment to section 105(2) in subsection (3) is that this duty does not apply to merger notice cases, which carry their own publicity requirements (see section 99 EA 2002).
832.Subsections (4) and (6) amend section 105(3) and 105(4) EA 2002 to ensure that OFT has the same obligations to give relevant information to OFCOM as it already has for the Competition Commission.
833.Subsections (5) and (7) insert new sections 105(3A) and (4A) EA 2002 to provide that OFCOM will give relevant information to the OFT and the Competition Commission.
834.Subsections (8) and (9) amend sections 105(5) and (6) EA 2002 to ensure that OFCOM have the same obligations as the OFT and the Competition Commission to give information and assistance to the Secretary of State in order to enable her to carry out her functions in relation to cases that raise public interest considerations.
835.Subsection (10) amends section 105(7) EA 2002 to extend the duties of the Competition Commission and the Secretary of State to have regard to information given to them under sections 105(3) to (6) so as to encompass information supplied to them under those sections by OFCOM.
836.Subsection (11) inserts a new section 105(7A) EA 2002, which provides that OFCOM must have regard to any information given to it by the OFT under sections 105(3) or (4) EA 2002 and that the OFT must have regard to any information given to it by OFCOM under new sections 105(3A) or 105(4A).