The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has lodged a complaint with a UK antitrust regulator, expressing concerns that aggregators such as Apple News and Google News do not adequately credit the stories they feature. According to a report from Apple Insider, the BBC has requested the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to mandate that Apple and Google provide more explicit credit to news sources. Although any decision by the CMA would technically pertain only to UK publications, any resulting changes implemented by these aggregators are likely to influence publishers beyond the UK as well.
In its complaint, the BBC stated, “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 broadcaster emphasizes that this perceived value is crucial, as it secures the majority of its funding through a license fee paid by British households. Therefore, ensuring that the broadcaster’s work is both visible and appreciated is vital for sustaining support for the fee.
Additionally, Apple has recently suspended its AI news summaries following complaints of inaccuracies from the BBC and other publishers.