Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has launched what critics describe as an attack on journalism through updated business terms that require users to hand over their content to power its AI products. The move has prompted calls for the government, led by Andy Burnham, to take decisive action against the tech giant.
The clause, buried within updated terms for businesses, means users of business accounts must surrender all their content to Meta for use in its AI products. For news publishers, this creates an invidious choice: either hand over all their journalistic content or leave Meta's platforms entirely.
Risks to Democracy and Misinformation
News publishers rely on monetising their journalism to fund journalists and the infrastructure that supports them. If forced to hand over content to a powerful tech player for AI products, which are increasingly displacing news websites, publishers lose the ability to monetise that content.
The latter option carries huge risks for democracy. Journalists play a critical role in combating misinformation and disinformation that would otherwise run unchecked on social platforms such as Facebook. During times of crisis, such as the Southport and Belfast riots, this becomes even more valuable.
Facebook has become so dominant as a gateway to online audiences that removing journalistic content would plunge the digital ecosystem into a nightmare scenario where misinformation and disinformation overwhelm it.
Hypocrisy of Meta's Tactics
The hypocrisy of Meta's strong-arm tactics is evident when considering how carefully it protects its own platforms from the same behaviour. Explicit permission requirements, use restrictions, and blanket blocks on AI crawlers all prevent Meta's platforms from being scraped for AI.
Globally, news publishers have pushed back with some success. In Norway, a court ruled in favour of media companies, saying the legality of the new terms must be reviewed by a court before they can come into effect. This has forced Meta into a partial climbdown, opening the door to delaying further the introduction of the new terms.
Call for Government Action
The British news media industry launched its annual Journalism Matters campaign last week, celebrating the benefits journalism delivers. Andy Burnham has shown his support, recognising that journalism is a vital part of our national infrastructure and not simply a nice-to-have. His words must now be followed by decisive action.
Meta's attack on British business should be all the evidence the Competition and Markets Authority needs to secure political backing to address the overwhelming dominance of tech platforms in digital markets. The regulator has done some good work over the past year, particularly on Google Search, but has been hampered by a timid political approach.
The government must show it does not accept any company bullying British business, starting from the Prime Minister and extending to key members of the Cabinet. Timidity in the face of Silicon Valley bullying is no longer an option. If Mr Burnham truly believes that journalism matters, his government will make clear that it will back the independent regulator to protect British businesses and citizens' access to trusted news.
