Select committee: Communications and Digital Committee
Recommendation 29
1st Report - Breaking News? The Future of UK Journalism
Published 27 Nov 2020
Paragraph 255
Communications and Digital Committee The future of journalism All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government should use the Online Harms Bill to legislate for a mandatory news bargaining code modelled on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s proposal. Once it is set up, the Digital Markets Unit should take on responsibility for this and keep under review publishers’ concerns about the ways in which platforms use their content. The Government and regulators should work closely with international partners on this issue.
From: Communications and Digital Committee, 1st Report - Breaking News? The Future of UK Journalism, paragraph 255, 27 November 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 2 March 2021 (deadline 2 March 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the report and agrees on the importance of journalism and the challenges of digital transition, while declining several specific recommendations, such as extending Ofcom's reporting powers and convening a funding forum.
- On media literacy, it accepted the Cairncross recommendation for a strategy, to be "published in spring 2021", but maintains that responsibility "does not lie with Ofsted".
- On court reporting, it says it does "not currently have plans to alter this approach" to recording devices, and will continue to liaise with HMCTS on supporting court reporters.
- On diversity reporting, it "does not propose to amend the statutory framework", citing the need to balance regulatory burden on enterprise.
- On digital markets, it commits to a Digital Markets Unit "from April 2021", will hold a public consultation this year, and will legislate "as soon as parliamentary time allows". On a news bargaining code, "No decisions have yet been taken."