News bosses warn over social media blocking articles

SOCIAL media companies must not be allowed to block content from recognised news publishers under forthcoming online safety laws, newspaper chiefs said yesterday.

Speaking to MPs, bosses warned that artificial intelligence used to decide which articles were acceptable remained too unreliable.

And tech firms were still too slow to react to complaints, they said.

It comes amid fears that sites such as Facebook will make their algorithms too strict when policing news content to avoid the threat of multimillion pound fines or criminal sanctions.

Under the Online Safety Bill, tech giants will have to remove content that is judged ‘lawful but harmful’ or face heavy penalties. But there are deep concerns over what the repercussions could be for legitimate journalism unless there is a full exemption for content from recognised news publishers.

In its draft form, the Bill states that social media firms must safeguard users’ ability to access journalism on their platforms. But representatives from DMG Media, The Guardian, and the Society of Editors yesterday warned the protections do not go far enough.

Peter Wright, editor emeritus of DMG Media, which publishes the Daily Mail, called for a ‘positive exemption’ that would ban platforms from moderating news publishers’ content. Saying he was ‘sceptical’ about sites’ moderating abilities, he told a Parliamentary committee scrutinising the legislation that news publishers were ‘not the problem this Bill is trying to address’.

Alison Gow, president of the Society of Editors, echoed calls for an exemption, warning the Bill could otherwise ‘stifle’ newspapers. And Matt Rogerson, of the Guardian Media Group, warned it was ‘extremely problematic’ when moderators were ‘people who don’t understand journalism’.