NUJ responds to government’s UK media green paper consultation
The NUJ has responded to a UK government consultation over plans to address the spread of misinformation on social media and reshape TV distribution and regulation.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) UK media green paper sets out a series of proposals to “foster a healthy information environment” and support public service media providers in an age that has seen many move from accessing traditional linear broadcasting to online.
The plans include introducing legislation forcing social media companies to make “trustworthy news” prominent and easily discoverable, particularly at times of social unrest or crisis.
The union’s consultation response, which was informed by various NUJ councils, agreed that online misinformation, driven largely on social media, is a growing problem that needs to be addressed.
However, the NUJ warned that if these plans are to go ahead, the state must not be the arbiter of what is and what isn’t “trustworthy” as this would be a clear conflict of interest that could allow any government to shut down criticism and scrutiny.
The union stressed that the government would need to avoid adverse effects, such as the systemic silencing (or deranking) of freelances and independent media voices who provide audiences with well-researched, quality information, and hold power to account. Anything less would undermine the principle of media plurality and the preservation of diverse perspectives and alternative coverage. As such, the union said it would not favour an approach that gives sole prominence to public service media at the expense of other trustworthy sources.
The response called for stronger regulation that clamps down on tech companies that facilitate and platform harmful and misleading content. It further pushed for a nationwide media literacy initiative led by public service broadcasters, while making clear that any such obligation must come with additional, demarcated government funding.
The union said it also supports a recommendation from the Cairncross Review for a News Quality Obligation. Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code principles should apply to online content - including Video on Demand Services - and Ofcom should be empowered to regulate online news content produced by UK public service broadcasters in the same way it regulates broadcast content.
The government is also considering changes to the future of TV distribution and regulation. The NUJ said it would strongly oppose ditching digital terrestrial television (DTT or Freeview via an aerial) for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV or TV steamed via the internet) in the absence of universal broadband access. A transition before this is achieved would only exacerbate the issue of digital exclusion, which is more likely to impact older viewers, disabled people, and those living in rural areas with poor connectivity.
Read the full consultation response.