US Warns UK Against Forcing Platforms to Promote Preferred News

The US government has urged its British counterpart to give up on plans to make social media and video sharing platforms give more prominence to news from mainstream media outlets. The US government's objection is that this would amount to 'mandating that platforms algorithmically amplify government-preferred media.' The UK proposal was contained in a green paper published in June, titled 'Watch This Space: A New Strategic Direction for UK Media.' The document said that the government will 'explore legislative options to require social media to make news content from PSM providers, and potentially also national and local news publishers, prominent and easily discoverable.' The US response to the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport's consultation, which closed on August 31, argues that the idea of official judgments about which media outlets are trustworthy is dangerous because it can be used to suppress others and thus harm free expression and competition. Unlike direct censorship, this would work by promoting government-preferred media, but the effect would be to make it even harder for others to be heard. This is because of the way recommendation algorithms work, and the limited space on a user's feed – promoting some content means suppressing other content, and thus, speech. The US government also warned that this policy would have 'significant effects beyond UK borders' because of the global nature of the platforms that would be forced to implement it. This could lead to 'extraterritorial censorship of protected speech by Americans online.' The US Embassy and Consulates in the UK published the US government's response. The British government's preference is to have voluntary industry agreements. However, if these prove insufficient, the government says it is prepared to legislate. The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport reacted to the US criticism by saying that it 'strongly believes' in free expression and fair competition, and that any future action will ensure those are protected. This is not the first time the UK proposal has been criticized. Among those who previously spoke against it were House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, YouTube, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The UK green paper cites countering 'misinformation' during 'crisis' or 'unrest' as the reason to make sure that news from public service media providers is easily accessible and prominent. It does not set out a final test for deciding which national or local publishers might also qualify, but that is the crux of the US criticism, and the question remains unanswered.