All Sections

View and post jobs in journalism
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Editor's Pick
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Broadcast Journalism
    • Digital Journalism
    • Magazines
    • Media Law
    • National Newspapers
    • People
      • Appointments
      • Obituaries
    • Regional Newspapers
  • Press Gazette Podcast
  • British Journalism Awards
  • Press Gazette Email Newsletter

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • About us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • RSS
Close
[mashshare]
Skip to content
  • About us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • RSS
All sections

Search

Search pressgazette.co.uk

Close

Press Gazette

Subscribe to our email newsletter Journalism email newsletter
  • News
  • Comment
  • Data
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Marketing
  • Awards
  • Jobs

Menu

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • National Newspapers
  • Regional Newspapers
  • Digital Journalism
  • Broadcast Journalism
  • Media Law
  • Magazines
  • Wires and Agencies
  • Obituaries
  • News
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Jobs
  • British Journalism Awards

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
Close
Coronavirus Journalism Excellence: Top examples of breaking news and live blogs
Journalism in Egypt now 'effectively a crime', Amnesty International says
May 4, 2020
  • Broadcast Journalism
  •    
  • Digital Journalism
  •    
  • Media Law
  •    
  • News
  •    
  • Social media
  •    

ITN calls for 'strong sanctions' for tech giants who break fake news rules

By Charlotte Tobitt Twitter

Share this

  • Tweet
  • Share 0
  • Reddit
Comments
0

ITV News, Channel 4 News and 5 News producer ITN wants the UK government to impose “strong sanctions” on social platforms that do not take stringent measures to remove fake news.

In its submission to an inquiry on the future of journalism run by the House of Lords Committee on Communications and Digital, ITN also called for social platforms to give preferential advertising rates to public service broadcasters and other quality publishers.

Timeline

  • August 3, 2020

    Broadcasters fear proposed 'duty of care' rules could have 'chilling effect' on news reporting

  • July 22, 2020

    ITN reaches ethnic minority representation target but pay equality with white staff still lacking

  • January 30, 2020

    Alastair Stewart's ITV News exit 'regrettable' says man linked to presenter's departure over tweets

Peers launched the inquiry in February to look at how journalists can be supported to adapt to the changing news media landscape, how they can become more trusted by the public, and whether public policy could better support journalism training.

ITN chief executive Anna Mallett said: “As we face a global pandemic, this review could not be more urgent. All our news programmes are seeing sharp increases in viewing figures as people seek out reliable, trustworthy information.

“That audiences are turning to the established, professional sources of journalism at times of crisis serves to underline their enormous value to society and underscores a need for action to protect the PSBs and quality journalism in the future.”

Among ITN’s recommendations to the inquiry is that social platforms should face sanctions as serious as those slapped on public service broadcasters when they break the Broadcasting Code – up to and including losing their licence after repeated breaches.

ITN said it was paramount to have “clear and strong” sanctions on internet companies breaking the rules, warning that “regulatory fines can be treated as an easily-absorbed ‘cost of doing business’ by the largest new tech companies”.

It called for Ofcom to lead negotiations between platforms and news organisations with the goal of agreeing a voluntary code of conduct – but urged the Government to make such rules mandatory if nothing is agreed after a certain time period.

Financial remuneration for content

ITN also suggested the UK follow the example of Australia, which is planning to publish draft rules for the tech giants to pay fair compensation for the journalistic content siphoned from news media.

“News is premium and expensive content, and distribution across a wider range of platforms requires additional editorial and technical resource, at additional cost, to drive continued innovation, in order to reach audiences who might otherwise not be reached with authoritative journalism,” ITN said.

One of its suggestions was preferential rates for quality news providers at the expense of the platforms. Another was a tax relief to support “investigative, international and regional reporting”.

ITN also mooted a kite-mark that would identify trusted news providers, for whose content platforms would pay a premium.

But it also raised the issue of how platforms could be “incentivised to support quality journalism, financial or otherwise”.

“Currently there is no more value to them providing quality news than there is of providing fake news,” it said.

“Indeed, fake news which ‘goes viral’ may be of more value to the social platforms, with the platform advertising model rewarding sensationalism and fake news far more than it does thorough, accurate and impartial journalism.”

ITN also wants more prominence given to content from public service broadcasters aimed at young people, such as ITV News’ The Rundown news briefing on Instagram.

In its own submission to the inquiry, the Society of Editors warned against “too-draconian” measures to clamp down on misinformation, saying this could lead to the tech giants being “backed into a corner where they take too broad an approach to removing or preventing the spread of false information”.

“We do not want genuine news being suppressed by algorithms created in haste to trawl the net removing poorly identified content.”

SIGN UP HERE FOR

MEDIA MONITOR

Press Gazette's weekly email providing strategic insight into the future of the media

Subscribe

Related Stories

  • July readership figures for world's biggest news websites: Mail Online and Fox News make up ground on 'broadsheet' rivals
  • Newsbrands made huge gains in mobile, tablet and desktop audiences as Covid-19 hit UK (Comscore figures in full)
  • Covid-19 prompts record digital audience for UK national press with 6.6m extra daily readers
  • EU referendum: Partisan national newspapers make final bid to persuade voters with poster front pages

Explore these topics

  • ITN
Browse, search and add journalism jobs
Comments
No comments to display

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More content

Post a job on Press Gazette

Most Popular

  1. PA wins High Court injunction against union issuing 'fake' press passes to 'citizen journalists'
  2. The new Trump bump: How Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy and far-right outlets are taking on Fox News
  3. Regional print journalist Liz Bates takes Channel 4 News political correspondent role
  4. GB News launch: Why advertisers are positive about new anchor-led news channel for UK
  5. Cash for conspiracies: How David Icke, 'alternative' media and tech giants make money from coronavirus conspiracies

Latest Jobs

  • Editor in Chief, Scottish Sun
  • Features Producer, Economist Radio
Journalism in Egypt now 'effectively a crime', Amnesty International says

© copyright 2021 Press Gazette Ltd. Made in Taiwan.