I mean, newspapers have escaped regulation for a hell of a long time - in the UK Leveson was defanged and the "part 2" that would have enacted real change was quietly dropped.
The UK has strong libel laws[1], which I can only assume act as a counter-weight, so that's a bad example really as it's more complicated than you make out.
[1] far too strong in fact as far as I understand it
Doesn't stop stories designed to provoke outrage and generate clicks and shares in online form - e.g. "look at this asylum seeker who's got an 8 bed house in Knightsbrige and a bazillion pounds in benefits ... GRRRRR"
Even when said stories are patently false and designed to enrage and inflame public opinion.
See also all the papers who escaped any real consequences for hacking the voicemail of a murdered child (as well as various celebrities).
