Content from “trustworthy” news publishers could be made easier to find on social and video platforms like Youtube and Facebook under new UK proposals.
The Government said “a range of national and local news publishers” could be among those given prominence.
The exact details have not yet been decided but one of the examples given was that news publishers could be more likely to appear at the top of search results for news-related queries on social and video feeds.
The Government is currently planning to ask big tech like Youtube and Meta to make the changes voluntarily but could ultimately pursue regulation and legislation if they do not do so, DCMS minister Ian Murray told journalists.
The proposals separately include content from public service broadcasters (also known as public service media or PSMs) being “prominent, discoverable and promoted” on third-party video platforms.
The changes are being consulted on via a Green Paper called: “Watch this Space: A new strategic direction for UK media.”
The publication of the green paper on Tuesday morning is going ahead despite Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement a day earlier that he will resign once a new leader has been chosen.
Murray said: “This is an opportunity here for us to say that we have a thriving media ecosystem in the UK, and we want it to survive.
“The two parts of it that are in most danger at the moment are PSMs and news media, and therefore we need to try and make sure we find a way of moving the old with the new to make sure that audiences have access to the best possible news and best possible entertainment that we can provide.”
The Government cited public service broadcasters the BBC, ITV, Scottish broadcaster STV, Channel 4, S4C in Wales, Channel 5 “and other trustworthy providers” as those that could benefit from the policy.
It referred repeatedly to “public service media” but has not yet given a definition for how this will be defined as this will be one of the issues under consultation.
Minister: ‘This is not just about the BBC and ITV’
The News Media Association, which represents the UK’s national and regional news publishers, urged the Government to ensure it goes beyond public service broadcasters.
NMA chief executive Theo Bamber said: “Trusted journalism is the antidote to the growing problem of misinformation on social platforms, but any prominence regime must support the diverse media environment that we have in the UK – a key part of our democratic framework.”
If the definition does not sufficiently include independent news publishers, he said, it would result in “narrowing the range of trusted voices available to people across the country”.
The Online Safety Act introduced in 2023 already contains a definition for a “recognised news publisher” as either the holder of an Ofcom broadcast licence which publishes news-related material, or an entity that meets criteria such as:
- Its principal purpose is the publication of news-related material which is created by different people and subject to editorial control;
- It publishes such material in the course of a business (but this can be non-profit);
- It is subject to a standards code;
- It has a registered office/business address in the UK.
This definition is seen as a possible starting point for the content that could be subject to the prominence changes.
Murray said the Government would be thinking about the audiences that will benefit, pointing to the important role of the BBC and local news media amid misinformation and disinformation being spread in the aftermath of the Southport attacks in 2024.
“This is, of course, not just about the BBC and ITV,” he added. “This is also about local news and that local media ecosystem.”
He said the Government had already been trying to verify whether changes such as these are wanted by the news ecosystem. “I think we’ve come to the conclusion it is desirable, and therefore, how do we deliver that?”
Murray also said the Government is thinking about “what is actually a PSM?” and whether the definition should be about the type of organisation or the content it produces.
“It might be the case that Youtube becomes a PSM in terms of some of its content,” he said. “Rather just being about organisations, it might just be also about individual content.”
Murray noted that this process will happen alongside the BBC charter renewal process which will look at the news organisation’s impact on other local media and the future of the BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporter Service.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “It is vital that we make sure that people have better access to trusted and accurate news and that our regulated public service media is seen and heard in the fierce battle against mis and disinformation.”
The Government noted Ofcom data from last year showing that three-quarters of 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK get news from social media.
Last week the latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report found that social media and video platforms including Facebook, Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram and X have overtaken publishers to be used by more people as a news source globally for the first time.
ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said: “UK viewers still love original British content from the PSBs and trust and value PSB news which helps to underpin our democracy.
“It’s the PSBs that also underpin the wider creative economy, commissioning original British content right across the UK. But the way people watch content has changed radically in recent years and brought challenges to sustaining these investments.
“We therefore welcome a Green Paper that will help enable PSBs to continue to effectively serve the UK public interest through trusted, high quality, easily accessible content delivered on the platforms and services that people use both now and in future.”
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