The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has filed a complaint with the UK’s antitrust regulator, expressing concerns that news aggregators such as Apple News and Google News diminish proper attribution for the stories they feature.
In a filing to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the BBC requested that Apple and Google be required to give more prominent credit to the original sources of news content. While an eventual decision by the CMA would primarily affect UK-based publishers, adjustments made by Apple and Google would likely set a global precedent and potentially benefit news organizations worldwide.
The BBC emphasized in its statement that it finds itself negatively impacted when audiences derive value from BBC-produced content but associate that value with aggregator platforms rather than the broadcaster itself. “If audiences derive value from our content and services but attribute that value to gatekeepers instead of the BBC, then that undermines the perceived value of the BBC,” the organization stated.
The broadcaster stressed that maintaining visibility and receiving sufficient recognition for its journalism are critical for its continued public support, especially given that the BBC is financed largely through licensing fees paid by UK households. Such prominent branding ensures the perceived value of its journalism remains clear and justifies ongoing public funding.
This complaint from the BBC follows closely after Apple’s recent decision to suspend its AI-driven news summary feature. That move came about in response to criticisms from BBC and other news outlets about inaccuracies produced by the automated summaries.
