Laughter In Commons As Tory MP Worries New Media Bill Means Siri Will Blacklist GB News

Conservative MP Sir Michael Fabricant raised laughter in parliament on Thursday after sharing his fear that the government’s draft Media Bill will mean he can’t get GB News.

Fabricant’s mention of asking Siri or Alexa to play GB News elicited laughter from fellow politicians as he digressed to highlight the success of GB News, which famously hosts several senior and sitting Conservative MPs.

“If I were to say ‘Hey Siri, can I have GB News Radio’ or ‘Alexa play GB News Radio’ how can I…,” he began his question.

As other politicians laughed, he defended his statement: “Of course i’d say GB News Radio, it’s the most successful news channel, now pulling in a bigger audience, I might say Mr Speaker, at most times of the day, than either the BBC News Channel or Sky. And Talk Radio can’t even be measured. Anyway, I’m going off the subject…”

Indeed, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, humorously interjected to steer Fabricant back to his main point, urging him to ask his question.

“I’ll help you,” Hoyle said, “because if you don’t get to the question you won’t be asking it. Come on, thank you.”

Fabricant continued: “My question is what provisions are in place, if any, to ensure that if I do say those things I get GB News Radio, not another channel, or that I’m not charged for it?”

Responding to Fabricant’s query, Culture Media and Sport Secretary Lucy Fraser assured the Parliament that the media bill includes measures to safeguard radio’s position with voice-activated smart speakers.

“Mr Speaker,” she said, “the measures in the media Bill are going to protect the position of radio in relation to voice activated smart speakers, ensuring that listeners can find their favourite radio stations on request and in particular where a listener requests a specific station they should receive at that station.”

The draft Media Bill currently under debate in parliament is set to usher in significant changes for the broadcasting landscape. Its primary objective is to enable British public service broadcasters, like the BBC, to effectively compete with major streaming platforms.

The bill intends to extend the regulatory reach of Ofcom to include popular streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+. A key focus of the legislation is to ensure that on-demand services offered by public service broadcasters are readily accessible and easy to find on smart TVs and streaming devices. The move is argued as a crucial step in levelling the playing field in an increasingly digital and streaming-dominated media environment.

Despite what Fabricant argues, figures show that GB News only commands a 0.53% share of the UK’s total October’s monthly broadcasting viewership compared to a 1.26% for BBC News and 0.90% for Sky News channels.