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Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport written statement – made at on 12 November 2026.
Baroness Twycross
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
I am repeating the following Written Ministerial Statement made today in the other place by my Right Honourable Friend, the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Online Safety, Ian Murray MP.
Radio continues to be a strong and highly valued medium in the UK, with 87% of the population tuning in every week. However, the means by which listeners tune into radio has undergone a significant shift in recent years. In particular, there has been sustained growth in listeners’ use of voice-activated devices, such as smart speakers, to access online streams of live broadcast radio. The use of these kinds of devices by radio listeners has grown strongly: according to the most recent figures from RAJAR, 18% of total radio listening is now via a voice-assisted device.
In response to these changes, the Media Act 2024 amended the Communications Act 2003 to introduce new powers to protect the availability and carriage of online streams of UK broadcast radio on such voice-activated platforms, defined in legislation as Radio Selection Services (RSS). These protections were put in place to ensure that listeners using services designated by the Secretary of State are able to continue to easily access live radio.
Before making any such designation, the Secretary of State is required to receive and consider a report from ofcom, which was provided on 19 March 2026, and to consult with persons who appear to represent providers of radio selection services, providers of internet radio services, and other appropriate stakeholders.
The Secretary of State agreed with Ofcom’s conclusion that 700,000 UK users is the appropriate threshold for designation. Consequently, between 15 July and 9 September 2026, the Government consulted on a minded-to decision that Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri, along with AI enabled versions of these services, should all be designated as RSS.
Today, we have published our response to this consultation. This confirms that Amazon’s Alexa (including Alexa+), Google Assistant (including Gemini), and Apple’s Siri are all designated as Radio Selection Services. Regulations which give effect to these designations are being made today.
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Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
Ofcom Web Site http://www.ofcom.org.uk
