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Across the UK, hundreds of independent, local and specialist news and media publishers work every day to keep people informed, hold power to account, and help their communities make sense of the world. Many of these publishers are small businesses but they play a huge role in our democracy.
 

Our coalition exists because these publishers are facing a problem they cannot solve alone. Big tech platforms have become the main way people find news. But their dominance in the market has tipped the scales of power. Platforms use publishers’ work to power their products, but publishers often receive little or nothing in return. Some can lose up to 90% of their traffic overnight when platforms change their systems for how they refer traffic or compensate publishers, with no warning and no explanation. This puts many newsrooms at risk.
 

So we came together to fix this.
 

Who we are

We are a group of UK publisher associations who decided to work together on this issue. Each association represents different kinds of publishers: community newsrooms, digital‑only outlets, specialist magazines, investigative sites and more. Together, we represent hundreds of publishers who reach millions of people.
 

We work together because we believe everyone deserves access to trusted, independent news and content. And we believe publishers deserve fair treatment when their work is used by powerful platforms.
 

How we are working together 

Our coalition is built on a simple agreement: we stand together to protect the rights of publishers and the future of public‑interest journalism. We share evidence, research, and lived experience. We speak with one voice to the government and regulators. And we support each other so that no publisher is left behind.
 

Who we are fighting for

When we say “publishers”, we mean the people who create original news and content for the public. They might be local reporters covering council meetings, investigative journalists exposing wrongdoing, or community editors telling the stories of neighbourhoods that are often ignored.
 

These publishers follow recognised industry standards, serve real audiences, and work hard to keep the public informed. Many publishers have very limited resources. They are the ones most harmed when platforms take their content without permission, push AI answers above their links, or change ranking systems without warning.
 

We are here to make sure their work is valued and protected.

 

The associations in our coalition

Our coalition includes:

• Impress, the UK’s independent press regulator

• Independent Media Association (IMA)

• Independent Publishers Alliance (The Alliance)

• Association of Online Publishers (AOP)

• Independent Community News Network (ICNN)

Each group brings its own strengths, members and expertise. Together, we form the largest collective voice for independent publishers in the UK.
 

Who supports our work

We are supported by organisations that care deeply about democracy, information integrity and a healthy media system. This includes the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (JRRT), Reset.Tech, and other partners who believe that strong, independent news is essential for a fair society.

Their support helps us carry out research, organise publishers, and push for fair rules that protect the public’s right to reliable information.
 

Understanding the DMCCA

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) is a new UK law designed to make sure powerful tech companies follow competition law. Under this law, some platforms can be given a special status called Strategic Market Status (SMS). This means they have extra responsibilities because they hold so much power over how people access products and services, and in the case of news, how people find information online.

For publishers, the DMCCA is important because it creates a way to negotiate fair terms and value exchange with platforms. If talks break down, the Digital Markets Unit can step in and make a decision. The goal is to stop platforms from taking content without permission or using their power to squeeze newsrooms out of the market.

If used properly, this law is a major chance to fix the broken relationship between platforms and publishers.
 

What has happened so far

The CMA has already confirmed that organisations like Google, Meta and Apple hold huge power over search for and over how people reach news. Publishers have shared stories of sudden drops in traffic, sometimes 30–40% in a single night, after a platform changes its systems. Many have also seen their work appear inside AI answer machines, with fewer people clicking through to their websites.

The CMA has created rules to help, but the most important part, the rules about fair payment and fair value, has been delayed by 12 months. This delay puts many smaller publishers at risk, because they cannot survive another year of falling traffic and rising costs.

We continue to push for faster action.
 

Read our submissions

We publish our submissions so everyone can see the evidence and arguments we have shared with regulators and government. These include:

• Our response to the CMA’s consultation on Google Search

• Independent Publisher Alliance EU Complaint
   

Get in touch

If you want to talk to us, ask questions, or support our work, you can reach us at: info@impressorg.com
 

Join one of our associations

If you are a publisher and want to be part of this movement, you can join any of the associations in our coalition. Each one offers support, community and guidance.

To find out more about joining The Alliance click here
 

Take part in our research

We are running research to understand the value of news, the impact of platform behaviour, and the experiences of smaller publishers. If you would like to take part, we would love to hear from you.
 

What is happening in other countries

The UK is not alone in the fight for a fair deal for news. Around the world, countries are trying to fix the same problem.

• In South Africa, the competition authority has said platforms should pay hundreds of millions of rand to support news.

• In Australia, the bargaining code led to deals worth around AUD 200 million in the first year. They have also just announced new laws to make platforms pay. 

• In Canada, Google now pays CAD 100 million a year into a national fund.

• In the United States, California tried to pass a bargaining law, and Google instead agreed to fund a news transformation programme.

• In Brazil, France, and Spain, governments are also working on ways to make platforms pay fairly for news.
   

These examples show that change is possible and the UK can learn from them. We continue to monitor the developments in other countries while working on what will work best for UK publishers now and in the future. 

 

CMS Conduct Requirements Update

Following our designation of Google with Strategic Market Status (SMS) in relation to its provision of search and search advertising services in October last year and consultation on proposed conduct requirements (CRs) in January, today we have imposed the first of these conduct requirements – the Publisher CR.   

 

The publisher CR requires Google to:
 

• Provide publishers with effective controls over the use of their search content for training (including fine-tuning) and grounding in its generative AI both within and outside search.

• Publish clear, comprehensible and user-friendly information explaining how publishers’ search content is used by Google in its generative AI.

• Provide publishers with clear and detailed metrics (including impressions, clicks, click-through rate, and an ability to calculate click quality) on user engagement with their search content in search generative AI features.

• Take reasonable steps to ensure that search content is attributed clearly and accurately in general search, and that end users have a clear means to access that search content.

• Publish clear, comprehensible and user-friendly information explaining its approach to attribution.

 

The full text of the CR Decision, CR Notice, Interpretive Notes, and Compliance Reporting Notice can be found here: Google search publisher conduct requirement - GOV.UK.

 

I would like to personally thank you for your contributions to our work over the past year, which have helped shape the final requirement we are imposing today.

 

If you have any questions about the CR, then please do not hesitate to contact me directly copying in the case team at searchsms@cma.gov.uk.