The Trump administration has raised āserious concernsā over Downing Streetās plan to force YouTube and other digital platforms to hand more prominence to established broadcasters, warning the move risks āfacilitating censorshipā.
In a pointed intervention, the US government said the proposals to boost traditional media outlets in social media algorithms could āestablish a template that authoritarian regimes could invoke to justify more control over online contentā.
It also warned it could undermine āindependent journalistsā and amount to āextraterritorial censorship of protected speech by Americans onlineā.
The statement, made via the US embassy in London, raises the stakes in the plans to give the likes of the BBC, ITV and other established media more visibility on increasingly dominant digital platforms.
Ministers, regulators and public service broadcasters have suggested new rules are needed to counter growing misinformation online as people increasingly turn to less regulated online platforms such as X, YouTube and TikTok.
In a consultation this year, the UK government said it would consider legislating should the platforms not act to prioritise trustworthy content. However, Washington claimed such a plan risked effectively removing the content of āindependent journalistsā over established outlets.
āPreserving a free, open internet and protecting freedom of expression online are top priorities for the Trump administration,ā it said. āA framework that empowers governments to influence which sources receive preferential visibility risks becoming a mechanism for viewpoint-based censorship.
āIf the UK compels platforms to boost government-preferred media in algorithmic feeds, the effect on a government-disfavoured speaker or media sourceās reach is not meaningfully different than outright removal. The US government would likely consider such a measure as facilitating censorship.ā
The administration has asked what safeguards will be in place to ensure āany biases and preferences of UK government officials and third-party organisationsā do not influence the plan in ways that disadvantage āindependent or minority-viewpoint journalismā.
A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: āWe welcome engagement and responses to our media green paper. We believe strongly in free expression and fair competition, and any action we take will ensure these are protected.ā
Insiders say any measures would only affect the UK. The US complaint highlights its readiness to fight for the largely US-based tech companies that run the worldās largest digital platforms.
Donald Trump also has a long record of attacking and bypassing the established media, regularly accusing major outlets of āfake newsā and biased coverage. He often tries to reach supporters online.
The US president is still engaged in his lawsuit with the BBC over an episode of Panorama in which it spliced together one of his speeches. The BBC has apologised for the edit, but stated the show did not defame Trump.
Social media companies have previously been sceptical about artificially boosting the prominence of traditional media, arguing that it goes against the principle of creator content.
Online content creators have compared the proposals to state control and fear their content would be pushed down the rankings as a result.
Simon Squibb, a UK YouTube creator, said he was encouraged that his concerns were shared by an āentity that I think politicians will listen toā.
āThis is a very dangerous potential direction for the UK to go in,ā he said. āIām happy that the USA has stepped in.ā
Supporters of the enforced prominence plans have couched them as a way of dealing with misinformation and preserving culturally British content.
However, the government has also been clear that it wants to help public service broadcasters survive the economic turmoil created by the rise of digital platforms, which all media companies are confronting.
