The Chief Executive of Ofcom, Melanie Dawes, told the Financial Times that preliminary research carried out by the regulator revealed social media platforms are driving polarisation among users. Part of a forthcoming Ofcom investigation will examine algorithms that “amplify emotional reaction” to news and potentially lead users “into an echo chamber”.
Ofcom has therefore launched a broader review into its media plurality regime, examining whether this should expand to cover the role of tech platforms role in hosting news – a move which would mark a further expansion of Ofcom’s already very broad remit.
Over the coming months, Ofcom will be engaging with industry and interested parties, with a view to developing formal recommendations for consideration by the UK Government. A further, “more intrusive” approach being considered is the creation of statutory obligations for online to put in place measures to “support the visibility and discovery of a range of high-quality journalism on [their platforms]”.
However, Ofcom notes that any such policy would need to be carefully designed so as to proportionately remedy the “identified harms to media plurality” and to avoid unintended consequences for the industry.
PPA has previously engaged with the Ofcom Media Plurality team and have requested a meeting to better understand the regulator’s intentions. We will also look to issue a formal response to the questions posed in the study, so please do get in touch (sebastian.cuttill@ppa.co.uk) if you would like to discuss the report and recommendations in greater detail.
We are keen that the role of specialist titles in providing trusted news is properly accounted for in any policy proposals resulting from the forthcoming investigation, creating a level playing field with “core news” organisations online.