DMCCA 2024
Coalition Submission
Fair value for the news that built their AI.
The Independent Media Association is preparing to negotiate directly with Google, Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 — for a settlement that keeps independent journalism alive.
Independent news is on the edge.
Democratic societies depend on reliable information. Yet the forces threatening it are accelerating simultaneously: AI, platform dynamics and weaponised disinformation are on the rise. Information integrity is now recognised as one of the leading global risks to world order — and here in the UK, the Southport, Epsom, Epping and Belfast riots showed how quickly falsehoods about a single tragedy can transform into national upheaval, threatening our cohesion and security.
Where strong independent local media exists, people are more community-orientated, more likely to organise and vote, more willing to fight corruption and polarisation, and better equipped to face upheaval — disasters, riots, pandemics. But as income migrates to tech monopolies, local news faces an existential threat. Hundreds of titles have closed and thousands of jobs have been lost over the decade, while much of the independent sector is now buoyed by volunteerism rather than sustainable revenue.
This project tackles that financial instability, and the perverse incentive structure for misinformation, by securing fair value, algorithmic transparency, and prioritisation of regulated journalism.
— Collective Bargaining Project, Theory of Change
What our plan is
Form a coalition to negotiate directly with major AI technology companies under the framework provided by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The coalition is seeking a settlement of up to £0 million annually — enough to sustain the entire independent news sector into the next decade and beyond — alongside additional support, access and regulatory protections for publishers.
Our work prioritises news publishers in this transformative economic redistribution, advocating for a share of revenue that reflects the value of UK media content used by LLMs and on digital platforms.
We are changing the law, not asking for permission.
Platform refusal to negotiate — followed by bad-faith negotiation and dilatory tactics from Strategic Market Status companies.
Leveraging the DMCCA and Competition and Markets Authority powers over tech organisations with Strategic Market Status designation, under which they are obliged to engage and negotiate fairly — backed by legal and professional support in preparing a final-offer and collective submission strategy.
What a settlement actually changes.
Financial settlement — £10–100 million annually
Negotiate a substantial financial settlement from Strategic Market Status AI companies to directly sustain independent ethical publishing for the next decade and beyond.
Supports core operations, innovation and reporting — reducing dependency on platforms and philanthropy and ensuring the long-term viability of the UK media sector.
Algorithm access
Gain direct and ongoing access to platform algorithms, including technical support from platform staff and comprehensive documentation on how algorithms impact content ranking, distribution and visibility.
Empowers publishers to optimise content strategy, maintain traffic and reduce the impact of sudden algorithmic shifts on revenue.
Prominence
Advocate for algorithmic changes that prioritise authentic and original news media over misinformation and fake news.
Gives high-quality, fact-checked journalism greater prominence — improving reach, audience and revenue while disincentivising bad information.
Novel research & best practice
Produce novel economic research using previously inaccessible data, and create guides and bargaining baselines for other sectors and regions.
Builds a foundation for sector-wide change, supporting federated media worldwide to achieve fair use in other jurisdictions.
Now. If. Then.
We are on the verge of sector failure for independent news. Acting now ensures there is an information ecosystem left to protect from being irredeemably polluted by the predations of monopoly platforms.
A unified coalition of UK publishers secures legal representation and collective bargaining rights under the Digital Markets Act…
It can negotiate binding platform commitments on fair value and algorithmic transparency.
There has never been a better time to support independent media.
Full statement
Across the UK, hundreds of independent, local and specialist news and media publishers work every day to keep people informed, hold power to account, and help their communities make sense of the world. Many of these publishers are small businesses and they play a huge role in our democracy.
Our coalition exists because these publishers are facing a problem they cannot solve alone. Big tech platforms have become the main way people find news. But their dominance in the market has tipped the scales of power. Platforms use publishers' work to power their products, but publishers often receive little or nothing in return. Some can lose up to 90% of their traffic overnight when platforms change their systems for how they refer traffic or compensate publishers, with no warning and no explanation. This puts many newsrooms and the communities they represent at risk.
So we came together to fix this.
Who we are
We are a group of UK news publisher associations who decided to work together on this issue. Each association represents different kinds of publishers: community newsrooms, digital‑only outlets, specialist magazines, investigative sites and more. Together, we represent hundreds of publishers who reach millions of people.
We work together because we believe everyone deserves access to trusted, independent news and content. And we believe publishers deserve fair treatment when their work is used by powerful platforms.
How we are working together
Our coalition is built on a simple agreement: we stand together to protect the rights of publishers and the future of public‑interest journalism. We share evidence, research, and lived experience. We speak with one voice to the government and regulators. And we support each other so that no publisher is left behind.
Who we are fighting for
When we say "publishers", we mean the people who create original news and content for the public. They might be local reporters covering council meetings, investigative journalists exposing wrongdoing, or community editors telling the stories of neighbourhoods that are often ignored.
These publishers follow recognised industry standards, serve real audiences, and work hard to keep the public informed. Many publishers have very limited resources. They are the ones most harmed when platforms take their content without permission, push AI answers above their links, or change ranking systems without warning.
We are here to make sure their work is valued and protected.
The associations in our coalition
Our coalition includes: Impress, the UK's independent press regulator; the Independent Media Association (IMA); the Independent Publishers Alliance (IPA); the Association of Online Publishers (AOP); and the Independent Community News Network (ICNN). Each group brings its own strengths, members and expertise. Together, we form the largest collective voice for independent publishers in the UK.
Who supports our work
We are supported by organisations that care deeply about democracy, information integrity and a healthy media system. This includes the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (JRRT), Reset.Tech, and other partners who believe that strong, independent news is essential for a fair society.
Their support helps us carry out research, organise publishers, and push for fair rules that protect the public's right to reliable information.
Understanding the DMCCA
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) is a new UK law designed to make sure powerful tech companies follow competition law. Under this law, some platforms can be given a special status called Strategic Market Status (SMS). This means they have extra responsibilities because they hold so much power over how people access products and services, and in the case of news, how people find information online.
For publishers, the DMCCA is important because it creates a way to negotiate fair terms and value exchange with platforms. If talks break down, the Digital Markets Unit can step in and make a decision. The goal is to stop platforms from taking content without permission or using their power to squeeze newsrooms out of the market.
If used properly, this law is a major chance to fix the broken relationship between platforms and publishers.
What has happened so far
The CMA has already confirmed that organisations like Google, Meta and Apple hold huge power over search and over how people reach news. Publishers have shared stories of sudden drops in traffic, sometimes 30–40% in a single night, after a platform changes its systems. Many have also seen their work appear inside AI answer machines, with fewer people clicking through to their websites.
The CMA has created rules to help, but the most important part, the rules about fair payment and fair value, has been delayed by 12 months. This delay puts many smaller publishers at risk, because they cannot survive another year of falling traffic and rising costs.
We continue to push for faster action.
Read our submissions
We publish our submissions so everyone can see the evidence and arguments we have shared with regulators and government. These include our response to the CMA's consultation on Google Search, with further submissions to be added.
Get in touch
If you want to talk to us, ask questions, or support our work, you can reach us at: info@impressorg.com
Join one of our associations
If you are a publisher and want to be part of this movement, you can join any of the associations in our coalition. Each one offers support, community and guidance.
Take part in our research
We are running research to understand the value of news, the impact of platform behaviour, and the experiences of smaller publishers. If you would like to take part, we would love to hear from you.
What is happening in other countries
The UK is not alone in the fight for a fair deal for news. Around the world, countries are trying to fix the same problem.
In South Africa, the competition authority has said platforms should pay hundreds of millions of rand to support news. In Australia, the bargaining code led to deals worth around AUD 200 million in the first year, and new laws have just been announced to make platforms pay. In Canada, Google now pays CAD 100 million a year into a national fund. In the United States, California tried to pass a bargaining law, and Google instead agreed to fund a news transformation programme. In Brazil, France, and Spain, governments are also working on ways to make platforms pay fairly for news.
These examples show that change is possible and the UK can learn from them. We continue to monitor the developments in other countries while working on what will work best for UK publishers now and in the future.