PARIS – AI reshapes how people consume news, and leading media giants are joining forces to protect their journalism. New York Times, The Economist and AFP are among 40+ new members joining Sustainable Publishers’ Alliance SPUR, expanding its global coalition to more than 80 organisations seeking to track how AI systems use news content and push for fair compensation.
The global battle over AI and copyrighted journalism is gaining momentum, with biggest media organisations joining forces to strengthen their position against the unauthorised use of news content by AI platforms. Sustainable Publishers’ Alliance (SPUR) announced on October 13, 2026, that more than 40 publishers and industry organisations had joined its coalition, bringing total membership to more than 80 organisations across over 20 countries.
The latest expansion includes major names such as The New York Times, The Economist, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and The Atlantic, alongside The Observer, ITV News, Radio France, L’Équipe, NZZ, The Canadian Press, Hong Kong Free Press, Stuff and Which?.
The growing coalition also includes media associations and industry bodies representing publishers in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan and Germany, signalling an increasingly international push to establish clearer rules for the use of journalism by artificial intelligence systems.
The move comes as publishers intensify their efforts to protect intellectual property, secure recognition for original reporting and address concerns that AI-generated answers could reduce visits to news websites and undermine traditional revenue streams.
AI content practices
SPUR was rolled out in February 2026 to develop shared technical standards and systems that help publishers understand how AI platforms access and use their content.
BBC, Financial Times, Guardian Media Group, Sky News, Telegraph Media Group, Mediahuis and CMA Media, Associated Press joined the founding group, while another expansion took place in June 2026. The latest membership drive represents a significant increase in the coalition’s reach, with several reports describing the expansion as roughly doubling its membership.
Rather than acting as a collective licensing agency, SPUR is building technical infrastructure that could help publishers identify how their material is used, document potential unauthorised access and negotiate commercial agreements from a stronger position.
The distinction is important: members retain full control over their own licensing deals, and SPUR does not negotiate or sell content rights on their behalf.
A key part of the coalition’s strategy is its Content Telemetry Standard, version 1 of which was published in early October 2026. The framework aims to create a consistent method for recording and reporting how AI agents interact with media content. This includes retrieving material, using it to ground responses, citing sources, presenting information and recording subsequent engagement.
Compensation Demand
SPUR co-founder and spokesperson David Buttle said growing participation reflected increasing support for efforts to create a fairer and more sustainable information economy. He argued that high-quality journalism provides an important foundation for AI models, while publishers still lack adequate mechanisms to ensure that their work is fairly compensated.
His remarks underline the central concern driving the coalition: news organisations invest in reporters, editors, verification and original investigations, yet the value generated from that material can extend well beyond the publishers’ own websites.
AFP Chairman and Chief Executive Fabrice Fries also called for greater recognition of original reporting in the AI era. He pointed out that millions of people rely on AI assistants for information gathered and verified by news agency journalists. He stressed that this work should be credited and fairly compensated, adding that content traceability is important for both intellectual property protection and public trust.
SPUR’s expansion comes amid mounting disputes between publishers and technology companies over the use of copyrighted material to train, develop and operate AI systems.
New York Times pursued legal action against OpenAI and others over copyright concerns, while other publishers have signed licensing agreements or initiated separate legal challenges.
SPUR has invited major technology companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and Microsoft, to contribute advisory input. Its model focuses on establishing technical standards and improving transparency rather than replacing legal proceedings or commercial negotiations.
