The Press Recognition Panel (PRP) has published its formal response to the Government’s consultation on Watch this space – A new strategic direction for UK media.
The response follows and expands upon the PRP’s statement on 26 June and focuses on the Green Paper’s proposals to make trustworthy news more visible online.
The PRP welcomes the Government’s focus on misinformation, public trust and the changing ways people access news, including the important question of how “trusted” or “trustworthy” news should be defined.
The Green Paper suggests that the definition of a “recognised news publisher” in the Online Safety Act 2023 may provide a starting point. However, the PRP warns that this definition is too broad to provide meaningful assurance to the public. It does not distinguish between publishers subject to effective independent oversight and those relying on industry-controlled or in-house complaints arrangements.
The PRP also cautions against treating alignment with the Editors’ Code of Practice as a sufficient trust signal. The Code has not been independently assessed through the Recognition System, and its discrimination clause does not provide equivalent protection against discriminatory reporting directed at groups or communities.
The response argues that any benefit linked to online prominence should be based on clear, objective and independently verifiable criteria. News publishers should not qualify based on self-declared standards or complaints processes that have not been independently assessed.
For news publishers, eligibility should instead be linked to participation in the Recognition System through membership of an Approved Regulator. This would provide an established framework for assessing whether press self-regulation is effective, independent and capable of providing meaningful redress for people harmed by press behaviour.
The response also calls on the Government to consider the equalities and economic impacts of any prominence regime. If enhanced visibility is given to publishers without independent accountability, existing harms could be amplified rather than reduced.
The PRP concludes that any public or commercial benefit linked to prominence must be matched by clear responsibilities, effective accountability and independent oversight.
The PRP is publishing its response now, ahead of the 31 August consultation deadline, to help inform wider engagement with the Green Paper. Stakeholders who share these concerns are welcome to draw on the arguments, evidence and recommendations in preparing their own submissions.
Read the PRP’s full consultation response here.
