UK's new DMCC Act lets publishers challenge Big Tech head on

TLDR: A coalition of media publishers is forming to negotiate with Google, do you want to be a part of it?

Various professional media associations are meeting to explore forming a coalition for collective bargaining under the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act 2024. Our members will be at the heart of negotiations —  and we need everyone to be engaging with our communications and briefings over the coming months. This is a pivotal moment in media history.

The Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act 2024 is a UK law designed to regulate powerful digital companies and ensure fair competition. It introduces new rules for large tech firms and strengthens consumer protections.

A key aspect of the Act is the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can designate large digital firms (e.g., Google, Meta) as having Strategic Market Status (SMS) if they hold significant market power. SMS firms face tougher rules to prevent them from unfairly dominating markets.

The CMA can enforce conduct requirements on SMS firms to prevent unfair behaviour, such as preferential treatment of their own services or blocking competition. The CMA has powers to impose fines for non-compliance.

The Act explicitly allows smaller businesses, including news publishers, to form coalitions to negotiate better terms with SMS firms. This means publishers can work together to push for fairer payments and treatment from platforms like Google and Meta.

The Act also introduces tougher rules against fake reviews, subscription traps, and misleading online practices. It also requires companies to be more transparent about pricing and contracts.

There is precedent for this. In Australia and Canada, publishers have gained concessions from Big Tech. We're discussing significant sums: $200 million Australian dollars and $100 million Canadian dollars. However, both processes had their flaws. The UK legislation is more robust compared to those countries.

What does this mean for publishers?

With the Act in place, publishers can collectively bargain with Google, Meta, and other tech giants over revenue sharing, visibility, and algorithmic changes. This levels the playing field against SMS firms that previously dictated terms.

Publishers may also be able to negotiate fairer payments for content use on platforms. This could lead to new funding opportunities for independent media.

SMS firms will need to disclose more about their algorithms and decision-making.

Publishers may get better insight into how their content is ranked and monetised.

If platforms abuse their market power, publishers can work with the CMA to challenge unfair practices. The CMA has the power to force compliance and issue heavy fines.

This Act represents a major opportunity for independent news publishers to push for fairer treatment and more sustainable revenue models in the digital news ecosystem.

How we're using the Act to help our members

We're reaching out to members of the following professional media associations:

• Independent Media Association (IMA)

• Independent Community News Network (ICNN)

• Association of Online Publishers (AOP)

• Independent Publishers Alliance (IPA)

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Our aim is to explore whether these associations are willing to form a coalition agreement to enable collective bargaining under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

This coalition will enhance our ability to negotiate fairer terms and ensure a stronger position in discussions with major tech platforms.

What are the next steps?

Over the next month, we're conducting joint research to build a strong negotiating position. We'll be focusing on organisations with Strategic Market Status (SMS), like Google, which hold significant power in the media sector.

We'll then use our research findings to establish a common negotiating stance. The research will allow us to create a valuation of the independent media sector that will be used in negotiating. 

We also want to create avenues for increased visibility and prominence, as well as a channel for communication and complaints via the CMA for members of each association. Ultimately, we want to make sure that all member organisations benefit from collective representation. We believe the coalition should be formed by the end of May.

Each association will pool their resources for the negotiations, including experts, consultants, and external research. By June, we’ll bring in external stakeholders like the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF), Media Reform Coalition (MRC), Impress, Open Rights Foundation, and other digital rights organisations to further our research. 

When all this is in place, the coalition will appoint a lead negotiator to speak with a single, unified voice. 

We'll consult with members of each association during the entire process, but we're happy to take feedback anytime. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out via email at community@ima.press.