Content Creator Association

A standards-based association to strengthen the emerging sector of content creators who now form a vital part of the UK's information ecosystem as one of the most influential forms of modern media.
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Content creators, often referred to as influencers, are now a vital part of the UK's information ecosystem. Millions of people discover news, politics, culture, health advice and public affairs through creators every day, making them one of the most influential forms of modern media. As this sector continues to grow, it is increasingly important that creators are supported by professional infrastructure that promotes trust, transparency and responsibility, while recognising the important role they play in informing and engaging the public.
The Independent Media Trust is exploring how a new standards-based Content Creators Association could help strengthen this emerging sector. The aim is to encourage high standards of accuracy, transparency, accountability and public-interest practice, while helping creators navigate the challenges of a rapidly evolving digital media landscape. Alongside supporting creators' rights, sustainability and professional development, the initiative will examine how the sector can play a positive role in tackling misinformation, improving public trust, and reducing wider harms within the online information environment.
This work will be developed in partnership with organisations that have helped build professional standards across independent journalism, including the Independent Media Association, the Independent Community News Network and, in particular, Impress, the UK's independent press regulator. Drawing on their experience of developing ethical frameworks, representative bodies and public-interest governance, the programme will explore how similar principles can be adapted for the creator economy, supporting creators while helping to build a more trusted, accountable and resilient information ecosystem for everyone.
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The Problem

Creators increasingly shape culture, public understanding, and civic discourse.

But unlike journalism or broadcasting, the creator economy still lacks widely recognised standards, accountability systems, and professional infrastructure.

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As the sector grows, there is a significant risk that creator ecosystems will be shaped primarily by commercial platforms and opaque private interests rather than public-interest values and transparent standards.

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Independent media faced similar problems during the early growth of digital publishing.

Over time, the standards-based organisations founded (specifically the IMA + ICNN) helped professionalise large parts of that ecosystem.

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Comparable infrastructure does not yet exist for creators.

What We Will Do

We will launch a rapid exploratory research and convening programme examining whether standards-based infrastructure for creators can be developed in the public interest.

The work will explore:

  • creator standards and codes of conduct
  • governance and accountability models
  • trust mark and transparency systems
  • creator sustainability and labour conditions
  • relationships between creators, regulators, advertisers, audiences, and platforms

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The programme will also produce:

  • public research reports
  • workshops and advisory roundtables
  • standards consultation papers
  • draft governance frameworks
  • creator survey research

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All findings will be published openly.

Why This Matters Now

The creator economy is becoming one of the most influential communications environments in modern society.

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Yet there remains very little professional infrastructure supporting standards, transparency, or sustainable creator careers.

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This creates a major risk that low-trust practices, misinformation incentives, and exploitative commercial dynamics become further entrenched as the sector expands.

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There is now a narrow opportunity to help shape healthier creator ecosystems before those norms become fixed. If we don’t now, someone else will step in with lower ethics, or current practices will become irreversibly entrenched.

Who We Work With

The programme will draw on expertise from across independent media, creator networks, standards organisations, and civil society.

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Thomas Barlow and Emma Meese, who founded the Independent Media Association and the Independent Community News Network respectively, will lead this research. They have an outline for a Content Creators Association already.

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Supporting organisations and networks will include:

Become a Founding Member

If you create original digital content professionally, or you’re working towards making it your career, the CCA is for you.

Whether you have 1,000 followers or 1 million, if you’re serious about your work, this is the place for you.

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