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3h ago

UK Government Plans to Push Social Platforms to Prioritise BBC and Legacy Broadcasters

Ministers say the move would tackle disinformation by making public service news easier to find ahead of a planned consultation.

A Union Jack flag and social media app icons are seen in this illustration taken June 15, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A person holds a smart phone showing the Twitter account for the BBC which has been labelled as "Government Funded Media" in the profile information. The broadcaster has objected to being labelled as government-funded media on one of its main social media accounts and is speaking to the social media company about the designation. Picture date: Monday April 10, 2023. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Media reporting this week says Downing Street and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are preparing talks with platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and TikTok to press them to boost BBC, Channel 4, ITV and other public service content in feeds and search.
  • No final decision has been announced and DCMS declined to comment, with officials understood to be preparing a public consultation that will feed into a wider Green Paper on the future of broadcasting.
  • Technology firms and free-speech campaigners have warned that forced prominence could harm competition, push users to less-regulated services, and raise censorship concerns.
  • Critics have pointed to recent BBC reporting errors and resignations as reasons to question automatic labels of 'trusted' content, while regulators and ratings bodies note younger audiences now mainly get news from social platforms.
  • The push builds on Ofcom’s July 2025 advice that the government should act to improve discoverability of public service content and on existing prominence rules in the Media Act 2024 for connected-TV interfaces.