Category: Public Affairs

The amendments seek to clarify “compliance with UK copyright law by operators of web crawlers and general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) models”, and are being led by Baroness Kidron, an advocate for online privacy and safety, and whose career in the creative industries was as a TV and film director.

The amendments have been co-signed by Lord Clement-Jones, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Science; Lord Stevenson, former Labour Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology; and Lord Freyberg.

Kidron, said copyright infringement and AI are “creating hardship as it creates an unsustainable asymmetry between organisations who make work and organisations who profit from it”.

She added that she is “very worried about the next generation of creators”, stressing that “we’re not anti-tech, we’re just trying to create a balance between one thing and another”.

The proposed clauses, which the PPA supports, would compel the Secretary of State to introduce regulations ensuring that operators of internet scrapers and AI systems adhere to UK copyright law.

The Government has not yet issued an official response to the amendments but is expected to soon be publishing a consultation on AI and copyright.

Sajeeda Merali, CEO, PPA commented: “People are turning to large language models seeking advice on a range of topics. But when ChatGPT gives you tips on gardening or creates the perfect marathon training plan, it is doing so using copyrighted works of trusted editorial brands. The generation of specialist content that we all rely on in our day-to-day lives is not free to produce. Publishers cannot sustain their businesses whilst having their work stolen and given away for free. The PPA will continue to urge the Government to roll out the necessary regulatory measures to tackle this ongoing problem”.

The report proposed policy recommendations to the Government on various issues surrounding artificial intelligence.

Building on the findings, a selection of peers debated the report, and heard from Lord Patrick Vallance, Minister for Science within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to outline the Government’s position.

Many peers commented on tech companies’ dominance and reluctance to address fair remuneration for copyrighted works use, and explained how this undermines creative industries. Lord Vallance acknowledged the ongoing discussion and the need for greater clarity within the UK’s copyright framework. At the same time, he said, “AI developers see access to high-quality material as a prerequisite to being able to train world-leading models in the UK”. He also said, “The Government intends to engage widely, and I can confirm today that we will shortly launch a formal consultation to get input from all stakeholders and experts.”

Similar to the last Government, Lord Vallance affirmed that rather than imposing new sector-specific rules for AI, regulation would remain under the remit of existing regulators. He also said the Government will maintain the “pro-innovation” approach to AI development (as opposed to “pro-regulation”).

The PPA is working with other stakeholders, including aligned organisations, to ensure our voice is represented amongst the collective creative industries. Additionally, when the consultation launches, we will be contacting members to inform our response.

To view the Committee’s full report, click here.

To read the (previous) government’s response, click here.

For more info, contact Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Eilidh Wilson (Eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk)

Amongst other things, the Bill introduces new duties for the ICO to promote growth and consult other regulators. The PPA believes that this will enable the ICO to work more coherently with the competition regulator who will be using their new powers to establish more data fairness and better business conditions for publishers.

The previous government’s iteration of the data protection legislation had provisions which would have allowed cookie controls to be centralised through browser platforms such as Google Chrome. The PPA is pleased that the Government listened to the concerns we raised that this would have exaggerated existing market imbalances between publishers and platforms and removed this from the Bill.

During the debate, members including Lord Lucas and Baroness Kidron, noted the issue of AI and Intellectual Property. Lord Clement-Jones, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology, criticised the Bill for not having stricter measures to ensure creators retain control over their IP in the face of AI companies using data to develop models.

Additionally, Lord Markham (Conservative) discussed the issue of data protection requirements for different-sized businesses, where he noted that SMEs which handle fairly low-risk personal data may lack the resources to comply with strict data protection requirements. This resonates with the PPA’s response to the ICO’s consultation on consent management where we highlighted that there should be more nuance to how data collection is treated, and recognition from the ICO that the data collected by specialist publishers is often related to specific interest areas which the user would reasonably expect to be collected.

The PPA has been engaging with stakeholders from this debate, and continues to brief members and Lords on the issues affecting the sector.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more, contact our Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk

The report covered a range of issues, from the newly defined ‘Two-Tier’ media to the impact of big tech firms’ market dominance on news dissemination.

The report can be found here.

What is ‘two-tier’ media?

A term coined by Douglas McCabe, CEO and Director of Publishing and Tech at Enders Analysis, in an evidence session, ‘two-tier’ media refers to the divide between those who have access to high-quality journalistic content, usually behind a paywall. This contrasts with those who are limited to free content, which is increasingly accessed via less traditional outlets, such as social media.

The report suggested that such a system is already having implications for traditional news outlets. However, those with more niche audiences, such as specialist publishers, are in better positions to sustain themselves, given that most content is paid, and backed by audiences who are willing to pay for the content.

While the two-tier system may hold benefits to specialist publishers, the decline in accessible journalistic content threatens the pluralistic landscape that traditional publishers help sustain and support.

The report’s recommendations to the government on this included tax reliefs to reduce the costs of producing quality journalism.

Artificial Intelligence

The report also addressed the issues relating to AI, both relating to copyright and its impact on SEO. Algorithmic controls and AI overviews by tech platforms are reshaping how news is accessed and consumed. The report said, “If the trend towards generative search continues, many smaller media outlets may struggle to make money or reach consumers— particularly if they do not have licensing deals granting them revenue streams and exposure.”

On this, the report’s recommendations are as follows, “Advances in generative AI are enabling tech firms to provide engaging and high-quality news summaries. This suggests they are increasingly acting as publishers and may need to be regulated as such [therefore] the Government should commit to a 12-month deadline for responding to future Ofcom priority recommendations on media plurality”.

On addressing the issues of rightsholders and their copyright protection with AI development, the report recommended,

“The Government must aim for a robust framework that helps the creative industries strike mutually beneficial deals with tech firms, aligns incentives, respects intellectual property and champions responsible AI development in the UK. […] We caution strongly against adopting a flawed opt-out regime comparable to the version operating in the EU. Much better means for ensuring technical viability, transparency, consent and enforcement are needed for a new text and data mining regime to work to UK advantage.”

The PPA continues to call on the Government to address AI regulation to protect the trusted content of our members. We also call on the Government to ensure a pluralistic media landscape exists, and ensure smaller players can thrive in these markets

The full report can be found here, which includes full recommendations, as well as other topics.

To read an article on Two-Tier media, published by Baroness Tina Stowell, Chair of the Communications and Digital Committee, click here.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more, contact our Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk

Shadow Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

• Alan Mak has been appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, replacing Julia Lopez.
  
• Dr Ben Spencer has been appointed as a Shadow Minister within the department.
  
  

Shadow Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

• Stuart Andrew has been appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
  
• Saqib Bhatti has been moved from a Shadow Minister in DSIT to a Shadow Minister in DCMS.
  
  

Shadow Department for Business and Trade

• Andrew Griffith has been appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, after holding Shadow Secretary of State position for Culture, Media and Sport previously.
  
• Dame Harriet Baldwin has been appointed as a Shadow Minister within the department.
  
  

The role of Shadow Secretaries of State and Ministers is to scrutinise and hold the current Government to account, as well as reflect the policy positions of the opposition party.

The PPA will be contacting the respective members to introduce ourselves and our positioning on our priority policy areas for the publishing sector.

To discuss this further, please contact our Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Eilidh Wilson (eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk).

The Bill is still in the early stages and making its way through Parliament. Last week, it was debated by MPS and Angela Rayner, Deputy PM, affirmed the Government’s position.

Given the complex and varying impacts of the Bill, the Government is launching a series of consultations to gather views from affected industries and individuals to help guide its formation. They have launched four consultations, with others coming in due course.

Kevin Hollinrake, Shadow Secretary for Business and Trade highlighted the possible impacts of the Bill on businesses, particularly on small to medium enterprises.

He said the proposed measures could be “existential” on their operations and hiring practices. He suggested small businesses should be completely exempt from the Bill. These sentiments were shared amongst numerous members of the debate.

We have been in talks with members to understand the impact of the Bill on the sector and individual businesses. If you would like to speak about this issue further or share views, please contact our Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Eilidh Wilson (eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk)