• by Ray Schultz , March 12, 2024

Britain is eyeing a legislative change that would stop a foreign nation from acquiring a news company in the country. 

Lawmakers in the upper chamber were to vote on Wednesday on an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers bill, giving the government a veto over any foreign state's bid for a British newspaper, Reuters reports. 

If the upper house approves, the amendment would have to be passed by the House of Commons. 

The issue at hand is whether Redbird IMI should be allowed to buy The Telegraph, Reuters says. 

In a letter opposing the sale, around 100 lawmakers raised the issue of editorial independence.

RedBird IMI is jointly backed by the Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments group and Gerry Cardinale. The $1 billion fund, which is run by Jeff Zucker, former head of CNN, says it will establish a new UK-based holding company for The Telegraph titles in response to concerns, Deadline reports. 

Such a measure would probably not have a chance in the U.S. due to First Amendment concerns, although a Virginia-led coalition of 19 states is asking a federal appeals court to allow Montana to enforce a law banning TikTok on privacy and other grounds.