Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a news publishers co-operative to levy online platforms who use and commercialise content produced by the news industry to support local and investigative journalism.

Sustainability of local and investigative journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton. The Government understands the important work that local news does across the UK, including outlets such as the Oldham Times and the Manchester Evening News. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector.

As part of the Strategy, we plan to help the industry adapt to changing online audience habits, including by fostering a collaborative and complementary relationship between local media and the online platforms that have the most influence over citizens’ news diets. Our work will build on relevant legislation including the digital markets regime introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act. The digital markets regime will boost competition in digital markets and help rebalance the relationship between online platforms and the businesses which rely on their services, including local news publishers. In October, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) designated Google with Strategic Market Status (SMS) for their position in search, and Apple and Google for their positions in mobile ecosystems. The CMA set-out possible remedies for these markets in a roadmap based on fair dealing, open choices, and increasing trust and transparency. Some of these remedies are aimed at addressing news publishers’ concerns about the imbalanced commercial relationship they have in the market. The CMA will consult on the first set of remedies soon.

We recognise that further action may be needed to support local media in adapting to changing audience habits online, guaranteeing continued public access to high quality, trustworthy public interest local journalism, and ensuring a level playing field with big tech firms as AI and other new technologies continue to disrupt the market. We are still considering what specific actions would be suitable and feasible for the Government to take in this space, and will update within the context of the Local Media Strategy in the coming months.