But the peers fail to realise the print/TV angle for political manipulation. Also, since when was Murdoch a Russian? Why would he be interested in deciding who runs the country? :-)
Media mogul Murdoch's 'Sky dataset' swallow poses 'grave threat'
The proposed £11.7bn takeover of Sky by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox is a "grave threat" to the democratic process, members of the UK's House of Lords have claimed. In a letter to The Observer newspaper, six peers have said that Fox – which currently owns 39 per cent of Sky – could gain too much access to one of the " …
COMMENTS
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Monday 17th July 2017 11:45 GMT Anonymous Coward
Data Slurping
Is there a tendency to believe what we see on TV above what we read/see in other media? Maybe in the UK where for generations we have been told that TV/BBC/ITV is impartial?
However, with the amount of technology that is now built into Skys boxes along with the all prevavsive internet connection, I can easily see a time when adverts, news and other "inserts" are played out from the box, and inserted into the "broadcast" stream in realtime. So, you may be watching Coronation Street along with X million others, but only you get to see the adverts which are directed directly at you. I can see the broadcasters and advertisers loving this, but it's a dangerous step, IMHO.
All those little details that companies like Sky and Google have collected on you.....
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Monday 17th July 2017 16:09 GMT The Mole
Re: Data Slurping
They've already been able to do that for years now: https://www.skyadsmart.co.uk/
They are only interested in adverts (where's the money in changing the news) but if you have a family it means you may see an advert for a ford c-max whilst otherwise you may see the one for the ford mondeo. Most of the decision is done locally by the STB so probably not quite as bad as websites doing it, and in theory it means you at least get to see more relevant adverts.
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Monday 17th July 2017 11:57 GMT Anonymous Coward
I say ponsonby is that not the horse which escaped many years ago? I guess we had better lock the barn door.
Whilst it's nice that someone in government has identified an issue, I think it's rather late in the day to do anything about it and to suggest that Murdoch/Fox have not already had access to sky's data is rather foolish.
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Monday 17th July 2017 14:04 GMT BebopWeBop
Well Murdoch is not necessarily a Conservative supporter either - it depends on the tone they are taking towards his busineess. While the conservative party seem to have lost the plot recently (taling iona purely 'hang opn to power policy') I can't believe they are so silly as to actually *trust* him
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Monday 17th July 2017 15:56 GMT John Smith 19
"Well Murdoch is not necessarily a Conservative supporter either "
Exactly.
Whenever I think of Murdoch I think of Martin Sheen's character in the original "Wall Street" describing Michael Douglasses "Gordon Gecko."
"He's in it for the bucks and he don't take prisoners."
All that helps Murdoch's businesses and increases his influence is good. Everything else is bad (to Murdoch).
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Monday 17th July 2017 15:14 GMT Wensleydale Cheese
"But Murdoch isn't a Labour supporter, so surely the Government will welcome him purchasing the rest of Sky?"
What a short memory you have.
From 2009, Sun turns its back on Labour after 12 years of support
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Monday 17th July 2017 12:49 GMT Chronos
Please ignore the elephant...
The letter says that if that information [TV viewing, phone, Internet records] should "fall into the hands of an owner with an appetite for political leverage, the temptations and opportunities for misuse become very great indeed".
And they wonder why so much opposition to the government having "opportunities to misuse" very large datasets of public activity. Appetite for political leverage? By definition, that includes every person ever elected to government and every civil servant with a pulse.
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Monday 17th July 2017 15:59 GMT John Smith 19
"Murdoch is getting a bargain after his newpaper titles pushed for Brexit. "
Murdoch's always liked the idea of nice sized country he's got enough pull in to threaten the ruling party into doing what he wants.
The only coverage more up May's backside was that of the Daily Express (ironic IIRC the trust that runs it is based in France).
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Tuesday 18th July 2017 12:41 GMT Dr Fidget
No problem
This is Rupert Murdoch we're talking about (News of the World, Sun etc.) - he has a history of being untrustworthy. How can any decent Government, concerned about Democracy and the rights of their citizens, even contemplate allowing him even more control of the propaganda sources? Oh, I forgot, he OWNS this British Government as he did the previous one, and the one before that, and the one before that ...