Data can be used to generate revenue through advertising, understand what editorial content is popular, personalise content, and make strategic decisions about product development. The paper acknowledged that the largest digital platforms have a status quo advantage, with their upstream position allowing them to collect a wider range of data, whilst media companies often hold themselves to standards not observed by big tech.

In the case of the press sector, the paper stated that social media and tech companies are perceived to have better access to data than press organisations, as host platforms have access to first party data when users interact with publishers’ content. These users are effectively ‘anonymised’ from a publishers’ perspective.

Also, it was observed that single sign-on (SSO) through an Apple, Google or Facebook account reduces friction for users. However, this prevents a publisher accessing a users data in the same way they would if the user had a registered account with the publisher.

Organisations surveyed for the paper also expressed concern about the phasing out of third-party cookies, which could lead to a loss in advertising revenue – one large press organisation stated that they are finding it increasingly hard to fill ad space in Apple environments as they know so little about users.

Some press organisations are attempting to personalise content based on user data, but other publishers felt that this would undermine their editorial content and leave users in ‘filter bubbles’. A major concern for smaller organisations was a lack of resources to invest in data collection and management software.

The paper concluded that the biggest challenges raised by media organisations were linked to the explosion of competition in the media landscape: social media and online only content providers can often offer content to audiences in cheaper and easier to access formats, and big tech organisations are increasingly acting as gatekeepers to valuable data.