Facebook and Google have been ordered to pay Aussie media companies for publishing their news
Facebook
and Google will be forced to pay Australian media companies for
publishing their news stories, under a world-first mandatory code of
conduct, after negotiations with the two global digital giants
failed.
Treasurer
Josh Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher ordered the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to draw up a
compulsory code of conduct to correct the imbalance of bargaining
power between local media companies and global technology platforms.
This
follows complaints from local media companies that Facebook
and Google didn’t genuinely engage in negotiations over a voluntary
code.
The
government was motivated to act by the collapse in advertising caused
by the corona virus-induced economic downturn, which put further
pressure on the viability of media companies.
The
new code being involved by the competition watchdog, headed by Rod
Sims, will include enforcement, penalties and ways to mapped out
arguments between the worldwide platforms and native media companies.
It
will include sharing of revenue generated from news, ranking and
display of local news content on Facebook and Google’s sites also
as data sharing.
Facebook
and Google have a stranglehold over the digital advertising market
and benefit greatly from the content of news publishers on their
platforms, social media, search queries and digital video.
The
ACCC found a significant portion of search queries on Google – 8 to
14 per cent – led to the appearance of the company’s Top Stories
results page, indicating a value of news content because of the
amount of searches.
The
ACCC has been directed to come up with a draft conduct code before
the end of July, with an agreement to be finalized soon after.
The
corona virus pandemic played a key role in the government moving to
rush forward with the mandatory code of conduct.
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