Government media proposals “potentially very dangerous”

JVL Introduction

Consultation closes next week on a Green Paper which could hand established broadcasters and media companies greater prominence on digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok and make alternative, independent media less accessible to the public.

Billed as an answer to online misinformation becoming “existential for our democracy”, it outlines plans for a “prominence regime” for what it calls trustworthy news.

In the detailed document below, Jonathan Coulter of CAMPAIN explains why these proposals are “potentially very dangerous.” They could have the spine-chilling effect of government being able to turn down (or silence) social media at times of social unrest or crisis.

In a letter to Ian Murray, the government minister who put the Green Paper to Parliament in June, Coulter warns of the risk of relying on a deeply flawed definition of ‘trusted news providers’ and says:

The problem which the Government seeks to address is real. But remedies that unintentionally reinforce existing concentrations of media power could be worse than the disease.

Here’s how you can comment on the Green Paper. It must be done before the end of August.

This article was originally published by CAMPAIN on Wed 12 Aug 2026. Read the original here.