Deadline reported that major video-sharing platforms, such as TikTok or YouTube, may allegedly face new legislation in the UK that could have them required to promote public service broadcast content. This media bill would require YouTube to make it easier to find and discover content from BBC and ITV content (namely; the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and the Paramount-owned Channel 5), which could affect these platforms’ algorithms, user feeds, and search results.

Originating from last September at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention, the government will publish a policy paper this week to outline the plans in more expansive details – of which, a 10-week industry consultation will follow. Per Deadline, ministers in support of the plan argue that the promotion of public service media on influential video-sharing platforms such as YouTube will help combat rampant online misinformation and disinformation while becoming a reflection of changing viewership habits.

From Deadline, UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy (who originally proposed the idea last September) said:

“It is vital that we make sure that people have better access to trusted and accurate news and that our regulated public service media is seen and heard in the fierce battle against mis and disinformation. […] As the media landscape moves further and further online away from traditional broadcasting we must act so that our world-leading TV sector continues to thrive and top-quality UK content keeps being produced.”

Contrarily, critics point out how selective prominence distorts algorithmic behavior, such as senior director of government affairs and public policy for YouTube in Europe:

“The UK’s creator economy is a global success story because of one simple idea: on YouTube, viewers decide what they want to watch. Videos become popular because they connect with their audience, not because we’re required to prioritise them. […] Prominence rules seek to distort that – forcing YouTube to prioritise government-picked channels over whatever viewers actually came to watch. That’s not fair on users, creators or the wider journalism ecosystem. We’ll continue to advocate for a level playing field.”

Last year, Deadline reported that the legislation was still “premature,” with government officials sharing to journalists that it was the preference of the government that these video-sharing platforms choose voluntarily to make changes. Separately, the UK government is in the process of moving forward on legislation which would ensure that streaming services be required to have major sports events available to UK viewers for free. This legislation would, allegedly, mean that events such as the Olympics would not be paywalled if Netflix outbid a free-to-air network – i.e., the BBC.