Some of Britain’s largest news organisations have launched a coalition to challenge the unauthorised use of journalism by AI developers.
Leaders of the BBC, Financial Times, Guardian, Sky News and Telegraph Media Group have signed an open letter announcing SPUR , Standards for Publisher Usage Rights. The group says it will press for clearer rules and compensation when original reporting is used to train artificial intelligence systems.
The move reflects growing concern among publishers that AI companies are extracting value from their archives without permission, payment or attribution – and in doing so undermining the economics of news production.
In their letter, the signatories argue that while AI presents opportunities, the current system is unbalanced.
“AI raises urgent questions about fairness, consent, attribution, transparency, and trust,” the leaders said. “Our archives have become foundational training material for AI systems… weakening the economic model that supports journalism.”
They warn that widespread scraping of high-quality reporting risks eroding the business models that sustain public-interest journalism.
SPUR aims to replace what it describes as adversarial scraping with a structured licensing market. Its priorities include:
- establishing technical standards to help publishers protect intellectual property
- creating licensing frameworks to reduce friction between newsrooms and technology companies
- advocating regulation to ensure publishers receive fair value for their work
Founding members, including BBC director-general Tim Davie and Guardian chief executive Anna Bateson, describe the initiative as a pivotal moment for democratic accountability. They argue that without sustainable funding for original reporting, access to reliable news will suffer.
SPUR is inviting other media leaders to join as founding members, with the aim of building a global coalition capable of negotiating with technology companies collectively rather than individually.
