Independent Publishers Defending the Right for a Diverse Media

Over the past year, regulators in both the UK and EU have begun to acknowledge something independent publishers have known for a long time: the digital market does not function fairly when a handful of platforms control distribution and monetisation particularly with the rampant roll out of generative AI.

Two recent developments mark an important shift and both are directly relevant to the work of the Independent Publishers Alliance and its members.

Google’s Strategic Market Status and Collective Bargaining in the UK

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has formally designated Google with Strategic Market Status (SMS) under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. This designation recognises Google’s entrenched and durable market power in search and related services and, crucially, gives the CMA the ability to impose ex-ante rules rather than relying on slow, retrospective enforcement.

For independent publishers, this matters because SMS opens the door to conduct requirements around ranking, transparency and the use of publisher content, including in AI-driven search features. It also creates the legal foundation for collective bargaining.

Through our work alongside partners including the Independent Media Association and Independent Community News Network, we are now preparing for structured engagement with Google that reflects the real economic value of publisher content. This isn’t about special treatment. It’s about addressing a long-standing imbalance where publishers carry the cost of journalism while platforms capture the upside.

The European Commission Accepts the AI Overviews Complaint

At the same time, the European Commission has accepted a formal complaint concerning Google’s AI Overviews feature from Independent Publishers Alliance, Foxglove and Movement for an Open Web, managed by top legal firm Prieskel & Co. The issue is straightforward. Publisher content is being used to generate AI-produced answers that reduce traffic, undermine revenue and offer no meaningful choice or compensation.

The Commission’s decision to proceed signals that regulators are beginning to understand AI not as a neutral innovation layer, but as a market-shaping force that can entrench dominance if left unchecked.

For independent publishers, AI Overviews risk accelerating a familiar pattern: content extraction without consent, value without return.

Why This Matters Now

Taken together, these developments represent a shift away from “wait and see” regulation toward structural intervention. They also reinforce why collective action matters. Individual publishers rarely have the leverage to challenge global platforms alone, but through coordinated representation, evidence-led advocacy and regulatory engagement, change becomes possible.

The Independent Publishers Alliance exists to ensure that independent voices are not an afterthought in these debates. As these processes move forward in the UK and EU, we will continue to push for outcomes that support a sustainable, plural and competitive publishing ecosystem. One where journalism, not platform power, sets the terms.