Sky News, FT, Guardian, Telegraph and BBC launch SPUR to set AI usage standards
Five of the UK's most influential news organisations have formed a new alliance to set industry standards for how AI uses publisher content. The coalition - Standards for Publisher Usage Rights (SPUR) - brings together Sky News, the Financial Times, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and the BBC, and is inviting other media leaders worldwide to join.
Their message is direct: publishers need clear permissions, fair value and practical control over how their journalism is accessed and used by AI systems. The group warns that opaque AI answers and widespread scraping risk weakening the business model that funds original reporting - and public trust along with it.
Who signed and why it matters
The open letter was signed by David Rhodes (Sky News), Anna Jones (Telegraph Media Group), Jon Slade (Financial Times), Anna Bateson (The Guardian) and Tim Davie (BBC). Their position is unified: AI creates opportunity, but the industry needs shared rules on fairness, consent, attribution, transparency and trust.
For PR and communications teams, this isn't abstract policy. It affects how your content is discovered, reused, licensed and credited - and how you defend brand assets from being lifted without consent.
What SPUR says it will do
- Develop shared technical standards so original journalism can be used sustainably.
- Reduce friction in licensing and make it easier for AI developers to do the right thing.
- Identify gaps in tools that protect IP and support building them.
- Enable access to high-value content through rights-cleared, accountable channels.
- Assess current industry infrastructure and where new approaches are needed.
- Support transparent, scalable use of journalistic content.
What this means for PR and Communications
Expect more structured requests from AI companies for licensed access to news content and archives. Also expect regulators and policy teams to ask how your organisation signals permissions, enforces rights and documents consent.
Communicators will need tighter alignment with legal, product and data teams. You'll also need clear external messaging on where your organisation stands on AI training, attribution and payments.
Actions to take in the next 90 days
- Audit your public content: press releases, media kits, multimedia libraries and archives. Flag what can be licensed, at what price, and what's off-limits.
- Update your press site terms to state AI training and reuse conditions in plain language. Ensure they reference licensing expectations and attribution.
- Coordinate with legal to prepare a standard AI licensing addendum for content reuse and training.
- Strengthen permissions signals: review robots.txt and robots meta tags; consider rate limits and access controls for bulk requests.
- Add provenance and rights metadata to assets (e.g., IPTC), and explore content authenticity frameworks such as C2PA.
- Map your most valuable content and where it is mirrored (YouTube, podcast platforms, syndication partners). Align contracts on AI training rights.
- Set escalation paths for suspected scraping or misuse. Define takedown, outreach and licensing workflows.
- Prepare spokesperson guidance: your position on fairness, consent, attribution and transparency - the exact pillars SPUR highlights.
Policy and technical signals
- Robots and crawl rules: align policy with enforcement; see the current standard in RFC 9309. Pair with IP restrictions in your terms.
- Attribution and transparency: include visible credit requirements and machine-readable rights where possible.
- Licensing channels: offer clear, rights-cleared pathways for high-value content so "good actors" have a frictionless option.
- Monitoring: track unusual traffic patterns, chatbot citations that omit credit and large-scale asset downloads.
Talking points for leaders
- We support responsible AI that respects publisher rights and pays for value.
- Consent and clarity come first: no grey zones on training data or reuse.
- Attribution is non-negotiable: it protects trust and helps audiences verify sources.
- Transparency builds legitimacy: users should know how AI answers are constructed.
Who's involved - and how to join
Founding members: Sky News, the Financial Times, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and the BBC. Signatories include David Rhodes, Anna Jones, Jon Slade, Anna Bateson and Tim Davie.
SPUR aims to become a global coalition. Media leaders interested in participating can reach the group at info@spurcoalition.org.
Helpful resources for communicators
Your membership also unlocks:
