CAI presents to All-Party Parliamentary Media Group (APPG) in the UK

Through our work fighting mis- and disinformation with the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), we’ve been able to contribute our perspectives and expertise related to anti-disinformation policy as it is being shaped. We regularly brief policymakers around the world on the urgency of implementing provenance and attribution solutions within digital content.  

On February 1, we presented to the All-Party Parliamentary Media Group (APPG) in the UK Parliament on the CAI and the C2PA standards organization. The APPG is a cross-party group of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Peers from the House of Lords interested in media and journalism, chaired by Andy Carter MP. Representing the CAI community and the C2PA standards development organization were myself, Head of Government Relations for UK & Europe at Adobe, Santiago Lyon, Head of Advocacy & Education for the CAI, and Laura Ellis, Head of Technology Forecasting at the BBC on the C2PA side. You can watch the full event recording on the Media Group’s YouTube channel.

We introduced the work of the CAI and how it relates to the draft Online Safety Bill legislation soon to be debated in the UK Parliament, including reference to misinformation and media literacy. Santiago shared how his deep background in journalism inspired him to work with the CAI, and how passionate he is about bringing content provenance to journalists in the pursuit of truth — for their own safety and to improve public trust of journalism in general. Laura outlined how the BBC is involved in the CAI and C2PA, their work addressing newsroom provenance solutions with Project Origin, and their future plans to integrate CAI technology. 

Through the draft Online Safety Bill, there is a real opportunity for policymakers in the UK to take the lead on provenance standards to help address the challenges of disinformation, misinformation, and inauthentic content, while empowering consumers to interrogate the content they view online.  

The recent release of the C2PA specification shows significant momentum in this area, and with open systems available to all moving towards a widely adopted standard, we can make sure organizations and products across the internet are working together to make the digital world more open, safe, and trustworthy.  

The Online Safety Bill will set the regulatory direction of the UK digital media landscape for many years to come, and we believe this is an opportunity that should not be missed to firmly embed the importance of provenance standards in tackling disinformation and empowering digital consumers. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to present to Parliamentarians interested in these issues in order to share our progress and highlight the significance of the CAI and C2PA work, as well as our ambitions for the future in content provenance. If your organization or policy group is interested in our work, please reach out and consider joining the CAI as a member to receive updates and event invitations.