Dutch media call for policy to safeguard information landscape

The directors of all major Dutch media organizations issued a joint letter to the negotiators of the ongoing government formation phase, urging them to make media policy an urgent priority. They warn that the dominant role of global tech companies is causing society to lose its grip on truthful and pluralistic information provision, posing a serious threat to democratic resilience and national security.

The core request from the Dutch media sector, both public and private, is for an integrated media and technology policy, overseen by a single coordinating government official. This reflects a growing concern that media consumption is increasingly driven by technology, and that policies governing these two areas should no longer be treated separately.

Nienke Venema of the Democracy and Media Foundation stated, "Our media landscape is increasingly falling into the hands of a few powerful tech giants. Soon, it will not be Dutch editors or journalists who determine what information reaches people, but American and Chinese companies that do not subscribe to our democratic values. This poses a risk to the reliability of information provision, and thus to our democracy and autonomy."

The threat of AI and data control

The media directors highlight the risks posed by generative AI, noting that one in nine children now relies exclusively on these AI systems for information. They caution that AI-generated answers are often unreliable, biased, difficult to verify, and susceptible to manipulation. Furthermore, AI companies do not take responsibility for the content or results generated by their systems.

The letter also points out that tech companies are using journalistic content without permission to train their AI models, leading to a loss of reach and revenue for news organizations. This, in turn, weakens the media landscape and the quality of information available for training AI models.

Call for European legislation and a Dutch digital ecosystem

To counter these threats, the signatories are advocating for the rapid and strict implementation of European digital legislation, including the AI Act, in the Netherlands. They stress the importance of transparency from tech companies and the need for measures to prevent illegal data scraping.

The media sector believes that the fundamental question is whether the digital infrastructure for information provision will be dominated by the algorithms of American and Chinese tech giants, or whether the Netherlands will invest in an innovative Dutch digital ecosystem rooted in democratic values.

This marks the first time in history that all major Dutch media organizations, both public and private, have joined forces to approach the negotiators responsible for the government coalition formation. With 'security' being a main item on the agenda, the media sector urges the informateur to make the security of information provision an urgent theme in the upcoming coalition negotiations.