The Associated Press joins the SPUR Coalition as a founding member
The Associated Press, a global independent news organization dedicated to factual reporting, joins the SPUR Coalition to help shape the rules and standards that determine how publisher content is used in AI applications.
The AP joins the existing SPUR founders - the BBC, Financial Times, Guardian Media Group, Sky News, Telegraph Media Group and Mediahuis Group. This follows an announcement of more than 30 new members at the WAN-IFRA News Media Congress earlier this month.
The AP brings a unique perspective to the coalition as one of the world’s leading news licensors, providing its fact-based, independent and nonpartisan journalism to customers all over the world.
The AP will join SPUR’s rapidly growing membership to tackle a problem unifying publishers across the globe: The unlicensed use of original journalism in AI applications and the lack of transparency in how AI systems use content.
Gert Ysebaert, CEO Mediahuis group, said:
“The Associated Press joining the SPUR Coalition as our first US-based founding member is an important milestone. It underlines that the challenges surrounding the use of journalistic content in AI applications are global and require a coordinated international response. AP’s experience as a trusted news provider and leading content licensor will strengthen our efforts to create shared standards, greater transparency and a fair value exchange for quality journalism. It is encouraging to see publishers on both sides of the Atlantic coming together to shape the future of our industry.”
Daisy Veerasingham, AP President and CEO, said:
“The quality of today’s rapidly changing information landscape depends on more than content creators. It requires a shared commitment from news organizations, brands, and technology platforms to ensure the ecosystem is grounded in facts and that intellectual property is properly valued and protected. We are pleased to join the SPUR Coalition as a founding member because we believe collaboration among these sectors is crucial not only to innovation but to the future of trusted information, without which there are serious impacts to society as a whole."
On 12 June, the SPUR Coalition announced the publication of its Content Telemetry Standard - the technical framework that enables publishers and content owners to understand how AI systems are using their content. The standard will be open for public comment until 24 July.
In the coming months, SPUR will continue refining the Content Telemetry Standard and related tools towards the goal of reducing friction in licensing, identifying gaps in the technical tools needed to protect intellectual property, and ensuring that high-value journalistic content can be accessed through rights-cleared, accountable channels.
