Concerns Raised by British Newspapers Over Apple's Web Eraser Tool and Its Impact on Journalism Financing

A coalition of British newspapers is expressing concerns about the potential impact of Apple's forthcoming Web Eraser tool on the financial sustainability of journalism. The AI-powered privacy feature for Safari is designed to eliminate ads and other unwanted content from web pages.

The News Media Association (NMA), representing the interests of the journalism industry, is worried that the implementation of this feature could lead to a decline in digital revenues. This information comes from a report by the Financial Times. The NMA, on behalf of newspapers such as The Times, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph, has penned a letter to Apple highlighting the importance of advertising as a revenue stream for publishers. The potential ad-blocking feature poses a threat to these revenues. Additionally, the NMA raises concerns about the editorial implications of AI tools that can selectively alter or remove content from articles.

Reports suggest that Apple intends to introduce the Web Eraser feature as part of iOS 18. This AI-based tool is designed to automatically block ads and other undesired content from websites, including images and text. Users can expect significant portions of web pages to be blocked. Safari will notify users if a page has been modified, with an option to revert the changes.

Apple is reportedly working on other AI features for iOS 18 as well. One such feature would allow users to combine texts on an iPhone offline for easier reference. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman has reported that Apple is nearing an agreement with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and is also in talks with Google regarding integration of Gemini into its products. More details about the upcoming iPhone update are set to be revealed on June 10 at the WWDC developers conference.