13 May 2026
In response to the King’s Speech today, Sayra Tekin, general counsel, News Media Association, has said:
“We are disappointed that the government has not used the King’s Speech to take forward its longstanding and widely supported commitment to legislate against SLAPPs. A suitable legislative vehicle must now be identified as a matter of priority.
“The government is right to support effective and timely CMA decision-making, but not at the expense of the regulator’s independence. It must also reaffirm support for robust and rapid implementation of the Digital Markets Unit regime.
“For the government’s competition objectives to be effective, its proposed ‘Growth Duty’ for regulators must promote long-term, sustainable growth for UK businesses, not short-term gains for dominant platforms. Any legislation for AI sandboxes must safeguard the UK’s gold standard copyright framework and the value of trusted journalism.”