Former Justice Secretary Calls For Digital Markets Unit Legislation

Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland MP has called for vital legislation giving the Digital Markets Unit the teeth it needs to address the imbalance between the tech platforms and news publishers to be brought forward.

In a series of written questions to the Culture Secretary, Sir Robert stressed the urgency of bringing forward the legislation to put the new DMU on a statutory basis in the next Parliamentary session.

In addition, Sir Robert asked what legislative and regulatory steps the government is taking to “enable UK news publishers to negotiate for fair payment by technology companies for the news content that they generate.”

Sir Robert is the latest high-profile MP to press government for answers over the DMU. Last week, former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale MP said it was “essential” for the DMU to be put on a statutory footing.

Mr Whittingdale stressed the importance of the legislation being introduced “early in the next session.”

The NMA has consistently stressed the urgency of bringing forward the legislation to rebalance the playing field between news publishers and the tech platforms, creating a sustainable future of journalism.

A recent report in The Mail On Sunday indicated that work to bring forward the legislation was underway.