The Government has published its Response to the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee’s Report on ‘The Future of News’.

We commented on the Committee’s Report previously here. It examined a broad range of challenges that the news industry faces, from the financial health of local news, to the dominance of tech platforms and the threat posed by generative AI, to the growth of SLAPPs. According to its authors, failing to tackle these challenges could lead to “the UK’s news environment fracturing irreparably along social, regional and economic lines within the next 5–10 years”. Should this happen, the Report warned that “the implications for our society and democracy would be grim” and that “the period of having informed citizens with a shared understanding of facts is not inevitable and may not endure”.

The Government’s Response broadly welcomes the Committee’s Report and agrees with many of its assessments. However, it is rather thin on additional steps that the Government will take to address the challenges that the Report identifies, beyond work that is currently being undertaken.

One area in particular that has attracted comment is the Government’s ruling out of any further legislation in the area of SLAPPs in the current parliamentary session. The Report had criticised the government for not prioritising anti-SLAPP legislation, noting that much of the preparatory work had already been done; what was missing, in the Committee’s view, was political will. According to the Report, failing to address SLAPPs would have “serious potential consequences for press freedom and the future of the news industry”. However, in stating that it has no plans to legislate further in this area, the Government has said that it is “considering lessons learnt from the SLAPPs Private Members’ Bill which fell at the dissolution of the last Parliament to make sure than an appropriate balance is struck between the rights to access justice and free speech”. At the same time, it says that it will “closely monitor developments in European jurisdiction to learn from best practices where applicable”.

In addition to SLAPPs, the Government’s Response addresses each of the other five areas the Report concentrated on. On the subject of the financial health of the news industry, the Government notes that it is mindful of the call for an extension and expansion of business rates relief on local newspaper offices, and that it is “considering all possible options including financial support through new or existing tax reliefs, whilst being mindful of the current fiscal climate”.

As for the challenges which the Report warned as being posed by tech platforms and generative AI, the Government highlights the work of Ofcom in implementing the Online Safety Act 2023, the CMA’s work under the new digital markets regime, as well as the Government’s consultation on copyright and AI. Finally, on the subject of mis/disinformation, the Response points to a number of steps that are already being taken to address the growth of foreign interference.

To read the Response in full, click here.