New provisions to the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill aim to protect news content posted on social media.

Under a new amendment tabled by ministers, social media platforms will be unable to arbitrarily remove articles from journalists at recognised news outlets.

According to the Government, the measures are aimed at addressing this situation and provide an extra layer of protection to the safeguards already written into the Bill for online journalism.

Ofcom stats suggest that half of UK adults use social media for news, with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram the most popular platforms for this purpose. The internet is also the most-used platform for news consumption among 16-24-year-olds and people from minority ethnic groups.

But news content has been removed or made less visible by social media moderators or algorithms for unclear reasons, often at the height of news cycles. For example, last year Youtube suddenly removed TalkRadio’s channel then reinstated it 12 hours later, admitting the move had been a mistake.

Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Our democracy depends on people’s access to high quality journalism and our world-leading internet safety law brings in tough new safeguards for freedom of speech and the press online.

“Yet we’ve seen tech firms arbitrarily remove legitimate journalism with a complete lack of transparency and this could seriously impact public discourse. These extra protections will stop that from happening.”

Currently, the Bill would not stop platforms from removing news publishers’ content or making it less visible if they decided to review it for potential breaches of their terms and conditions, even if they eventually found no fault with it.

Under the new amendment, Category 1 companies – including the largest and most popular social media platforms – will now be required to ensure recognised news publishers’ articles remain viewable and accessible on their sites even if they are under review by moderators.

They will be required to notify news publishers and offer them a right of appeal before removing or moderating their content or taking any action against their accounts.

By doing so, the amendments aim to reduce the risk of platforms taking arbitrary or accidental moderation decisions against news publisher content which plays an invaluable role in UK society and democracy. News publishers will benefit from greater awareness and advance warning about possible action being taken against their content, and more transparency about the decision-making behind it.

The amendment follows concerns raised by the news industry and the Joint Committee that the Bill could indirectly incentivise platforms to be overzealous in removing or moderating news publishers’ content due to fear of sanctions by the regulator Ofcom.

Recommended

• Seven early-stage Scottish startups to watch
• Preventing Data Bias: Why data ethics needs a champion
• GDPR fines hit nearly €100 million in H1 2022

This could damage the commercial sustainability of news publishers, many of which rely on the advertising revenue they receive through people accessing their content on social media channels.

The new requirement means that, unless the post is illegal under the Bill or platforms would have a criminal or civil liability for hosting it, content from recognised news publishers will remain online even while a review by moderators and any subsequent appeal takes place.

Platforms can still take immediate action on content posted by normal users, who can appeal the removal of their content after it has been taken down under the Bill’s existing complaints procedures.

Instead of being informed after their content has been taken down for review, news publishers will be told in advance while it remains up on users’ news feeds, giving them time to lodge an appeal.

Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox

Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars.

To subscribe, click here.