Google and Facebook should be regulated to help people spot ‘quality news’, UK report says

When tech giants such as Facebook, Apple, and Google display news, they should do so under  regulatory scrutiny, an official UK report recommends. 

The Cairncross review, a report on the future of the UK news industry providing regulators with recommendations for the future of the news industry, said online platforms should be obligated to help their users better understand the origin of a news article and help them detect whether or not a news story is trustworthy.  

“Government should place an obligation on the larger online platforms to improve how their users understand the origin of an article of news and the trustworthiness of its source, thereby helping readers identify what “good” or “quality” news looks like,” the report says. 

Per the Cairncross review, big online platforms are well-positioned to help users identify quality news, since they already have so much knowledge and data available on how users engage with news content. 

“This task is too important to leave entirely to the judgment of commercial entities.” 

But, the report states, they should be put under regulation in order to ensure that they do enough to help their users identify quality journalism and thereby also halt the spreading of fake news and misinformation.”This task is too important to leave entirely to the judgment of commercial entities.” 

Since the question of whether or not users are able to separate quality journalism from fake news is ultimately a question of media literacy, the Cairncross review also recommends that the Goverment develops a media literacy strategy.

“Adults, as well as children and young people, need critical literacy skills to navigate the volume of information online, evaluate it, and decide what it means to them,” the report states. 

The Cairncross review also underlines the importance of helping people better understand the actual implications of using social media and the internet in general. “People need to be more aware of the vast amount of information that online businesses hold on them, how it is acquired and how it is used.”

Damian Collins MP, Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, commented that he “welcomed” the  “obligation on behalf of the platforms to help their users distinguish between quality journalism, and stories coming from organisations that have been linked to disinformation or are regarded as being unreliable sources.”

Mashable has reached out to Facebook and Google for comment. 

UPDATE: Feb. 12, 2019, 3:29 p.m. GMT A Facebook spokesperson writes in an email to Mashable: “We’re deeply committed to supporting publishers in the UK, and to making sure that people see credible news on Facebook. We have engaged fully with Dame Cairncross and her team during this process, and are reviewing the recommendations put forward today.”