The Donald Trump administration has criticised plans by the UK government to require online platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to give greater prominence to content from the BBC and other public service broadcasters.
In a submission to the UK government’s consultation on the proposals, the US government described the planned measures as state interference in the algorithms of American technology companies, warning that they could amount to “extraterritorial censorship of protected speech by Americans online.”
The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced the proposals in June as part of efforts to ensure public service media content is easier to find on major online video platforms.
Under the plans, platforms including YouTube and TikTok could be required to make content from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Paramount-owned Channel 5 more prominent in users’ feeds and search results.
The measures could, for example, result in official clips from programmes such as Question Time receiving greater visibility on the platforms.
The UK government has argued that greater prominence for public service media reflects changing viewing habits and could help counter misinformation and disinformation online.
However, the Trump administration said it had “serious concerns about the UK government’s stated goal of increasing the prominence of public service media and other ‘trusted news’ sources in users’ feeds.”
“A framework that empowers governments to influence which sources receive preferential visibility risks becoming a mechanism for viewpoint-based censorship,” the US government said.
It warned that compelling platforms to promote government-preferred media could have consequences beyond Britain.
“If the UK compels platforms to boost government-preferred media in algorithmic feeds, the effect on a government-disfavored speaker or media source’s reach is not meaningfully different than outright removal. The US government would likely consider such a measure as facilitating censorship,” it said.
The administration also warned that the proposed approach could provide a precedent for governments seeking greater control over online content.
“Furthermore, such a mandate could establish a template that authoritarian regimes could invoke to justify more control over online content,” it added.
The US Embassy in the UK called on the British government to abandon plans to require platforms to algorithmically amplify government-preferred media.
“We ask that the UK withdraw any plans to mandate that platforms algorithmically amplify government-preferred media,” the embassy said.
It further argued that mandatory changes to platform algorithms could affect users and journalists outside the UK, including Americans.
“Mandated platform design features, especially when applied to algorithms, may have an impact on what users see, say, and hear not just in or from the UK, but globally,” the notice said.
“Forced platform design changes to amplify UK government-preferred information sources could affect how Americans experience these platforms and how US and independent journalists reach audiences.”
Beyond free-speech concerns, the Trump administration said the proposals could create economic challenges for US technology companies and undermine Britain’s reputation as an innovation-friendly market.
It warned that the measures could “impose disproportionate compliance burdens on American companies.”
The US position echoes concerns previously raised by YouTube over the proposed rules.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival last month, YouTube’s Vice President for EMEA, Pedro Pina, criticised the proposal as “forced prominence,” arguing that it could “impair the public interest” and hurt the livelihoods of content creators.
The dispute places the UK’s proposed media reforms under fresh international scrutiny, with Washington arguing that measures designed to shape the visibility of public service media could have implications for how Americans and audiences globally access information online.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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