Chairman Jordan Requests Briefing from UK Official on Proposal Forcing American Social Media Platforms to Display Government-approved News Sources

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to United Kingdom (U.K.) Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport Lisa Nandy requesting a briefing on the U.K.'s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) proposed reforms that would require social media platforms to display news outlets that are approved by the U.K. government at the top of their feeds.

The DCMS's proposed reforms would require American social media platforms to implement a tiered information system and could require them to make significant changes to their global platform policies, which will affect American citizens.

The proposal would require social media platforms to ensure that public service media (PSM), which includes the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, S4C and 5, are "prominent" and "easy to find." This type of government required gatekeeping stifles independent and smaller outlets.

The DCMS believes that:

• The rise of online journalism limits "the ability of trustworthy news providers to reach audiences and shape informed public debate;"
• Algorithms spread misinformation and disinformation online;
• "Citizens cannot easily make free and informed choices without media based on shared and accurate facts."

As the Committee has documented, European regulators have repeatedly used terms like disinformation and misinformation to exercise greater control over online expression and limit the distribution of politically disfavored speech. As noted, the DCMS paper specifically references "times of social unrest or crisis" as key moments where it is important for the government to control the dissemination of specific media outlets.

The Committee is committed to protecting online speech, expression, and the rights of American companies and their users, including from foreign laws that will have global implications for content that is prioritized online.

Read the letter Secretary of State Nandy here.

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