Ministers urged to break cover and publicly back crackdown on Facebook owner Meta over plans to 'steal' UK publishers' content to train AI models, with publishing industry accusing Government of 'absence of any public support'

Ministers were yesterday urged to publicly demand a crackdown on Facebook owner Meta over its plans to 'steal' UK publishers' content to train AI models. In a letter to the Business and Culture Secretaries Jonathan Reynolds and Lisa Nandy, publishing industry leaders hit out at 'the absence of any public support from the Government'. Seen by the Daily Mail, it raises fears the competition watchdog will fail to intervene unless given 'explicit political backing' to do so.

It pointed to a report by the centre-Left IPPR think-tank this summer which accused ministers of 'actively taking incumbents' side', making it 'almost impossible for the Competition and Markets Authority to move fast' to protect firms and consumers. Sent this week amid a growing clamour for action to prevent the widespread 'theft' of UK publishers' content, the letter says the CMA has shown it is willing to engage but needs the Government to fully stand behind it.

Failure to do so would 'seriously harm news publishers', it warns ministers. It was sent by Theo Bamber, boss of News Media Association, which represents most national, regional and local UK publishers. It comes after Meta unveiled plans to change the terms and conditions for using its platforms. It is feared Meta's new proposed terms and conditions for using its platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, give it new rights to 'scrape' all content from any UK publisher which uses them Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was urged to publicly back a crackdown in the letter from the publishing industry The publishing industry letter calling for ministers to publicly back a crackdown was also addressed to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy This, it is feared, would allow the tech giant to 'scrape' content – without paying for it – from UK publishers that use Meta platforms, including content on non-Meta platforms, such as a publisher's own website.

Avoiding this by removing all accounts publishers have on Meta could be hugely financially damaging because the accounts direct many readers to their own websites. It is also argued such a move would deprive Facebook and Instagram users of news that is rigorously fact-checked, leaving Meta to potentially train AI from less reliable sources. The CMA is investigating the changes. While it is, in theory, independent, the Government gives it a 'strategic steer' every year or so and so far ministers have broadly backed a light-touch approach to dealing with Silicon Valley giants.

The CMA could threaten Meta with sanctions in a bid to force it into dropping its new terms – action which the NMA says is more likely if ministers publicly backed it. Meta denies its planned changes are about scraping news websites. The culture department said it recognised the concerns of publishers, adding: 'We will follow the CMA's engagement with Meta closely.' STEPHEN GLOVER: Obnoxious practices, unbridled power... how this digital behemoth threatens Press freedom