Australia Unveils Its Plan to Make Facebook and Google Pay for News
31 Luglio 2020 - 10:13AM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Cherney
Media companies in Australia will be able to seek payment from
Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google for news articles that are
posted on their platforms, according to new rules, which could set
a precedent for other countries seeking to compel tech giants to
compensate local publishers.
The new rules, which need to be passed by Australia's
Parliament, would require digital platforms to take part in
negotiations with media companies over payment, Australia's
competition regulator said Friday. If the media companies and the
platforms can't reach an agreement during three months of talks, an
independent arbitrator would pick a compensation plan from one of
the sides. The decision would be binding.
The rules offer a detailed view into how Australian authorities
plan to make Facebook and Google pay for content. Other countries,
particularly in Europe, have tried to force tech companies to pay
publishers, often with little success. In Australia, the effort
gained momentum as the economic downturn from the coronavirus
pandemic further strained the finances of media companies.
"There is a fundamental bargaining power imbalance between news
media businesses and the major digital platforms," said Rod Sims,
the chair of the competition regulator, the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission. "News businesses have no option but to
deal with the platforms, and have had little ability to negotiate
over payment for their content or other issues."
The Australian government, led by conservative Prime Minister
Scott Morrison, last year asked the regulator to develop a
voluntary code that would govern the relationship between news
businesses and digital platforms. But talks over payment stalled
and the government then asked the regulator to develop a mandatory
code.
Publishers world-wide have long sought compensation from Google
and Facebook, which collect ad revenue based on visits to their
platforms and increase traffic by including links to news articles.
In the past, major technology companies have resisted paying for
content, instead donating to news organizations through
philanthropic arms. They have also argued that publishers benefit
by getting traffic directed to them from their digital
platforms.
But in June, Google said it reached agreements to pay certain
publishers around the world, though it didn't unveil any deals with
American outlets. Last year, Facebook said it would pay some news
organizations to license headlines and story summaries for a news
service.
On Friday, Google said the draft rules don't fully account for
the value of the billions of clicks it sends to Australian
publishers for free every year. Using figures from a study done by
Deloitte in Europe, Google estimated that value was at about 218
million Australian dollars ($157 million) a year from Google
traffic alone.
Friday's proposal "sends a concerning message to businesses and
investors that the Australian government will intervene instead of
letting the market work, and undermines Australia's ambition to
become a leading digital economy," said Mel Silva, managing
director for Google Australia & New Zealand. "We urge policy
makers to ensure that the final code is grounded in commercial
reality."
Facebook said it is reviewing the government's proposal.
Previously, it said it was disappointed that the Australian
government was planning to require tech companies to pay for
news.
The proposed rules mean tech companies won't be able to walk
away from negotiations with media companies, said Michael Miller,
executive chairman at News Corp's Australia subsidiary, which
publishes national and local newspapers across the country. News
Corp also owns Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of The Wall
Street Journal.
Nine Entertainment Co., which owns papers like the Sydney
Morning Herald as well as radio and television assets, welcomed
Friday's proposal and said it would lead to significant long-term
benefits for the company.
Parliament's passage of the new proposal isn't guaranteed. The
government doesn't have a majority in the Senate--the upper
house--where laws are passed. The opposition Labor Party said it
welcomed the progress in developing the new rules, but expressed
concern that the requirement for tech companies to negotiate
wouldn't apply to public broadcasters funded by the government.
The rules would initially apply to only Google and Facebook, but
other digital platforms could be added later if it is determined
that they gain too much influence over Australian media companies,
the competition regulator said. The new rules would allow media
companies to negotiate individually or collectively with the tech
giants.
Friday's proposal would also create new regulations for the tech
giants that aren't subject to negotiation. Digital platforms would
be required to give media companies 28 days of notice if algorithm
changes impact how much traffic will be referred to a publisher's
website, or if the changes affect the ranking of news articles
behind paywalls.
The platforms would also be required to give media businesses
information about the data they collect, including how long users
spend on an article and how many articles users read. The
competition regulator would enforce the new rules and could levy
fines for violations.
A public-comment period on the proposed rules runs until Aug. 28
and final legislation would be introduced in Parliament soon after
that.
Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 31, 2020 03:58 ET (07:58 GMT)
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