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Tech platforms like Google and Facebook are fighting an Australian bill that will force them to pay Australian media companies.
The Australian Government introduced the Digital Media and Platforms Mandatory Trading Code in December 2020 after more than three years of extensive public consultations to “address the bargaining power imbalance between media companies and digital platforms “. The Code aims to keep journalism in the public interest in Australia and to ensure that news media companies are paid for the content they create. While it will initially apply only to Facebook News Feed and Google Search, it may include other digital platform services in the future if there is sufficient evidence that they lead to an imbalance in negotiating power. The Code encourages parties to enter into commercial negotiations, allows technology platforms to publish standard offers, establishes a framework for negotiating in good faith, and sets clear and workable minimum standards for technology platforms.
In response to the law, Facebook said:
Australia proposes legislation to govern the relationship between Facebook and news publishers that does not understand the dynamics of the internet and ignores important facts about the value publishers receive from Facebook. Assuming this bill becomes law, we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia to share local and international news on Facebook and Instagram. This is not our first choice, it is our last. But it is the only way to guard against an outcome that defies logic and will harm, not help, the long-term vitality of Australia’s news and media industry.
Google, while threatening to disable its search engine in Australia, said:
The Code was originally designed to support the financial future of publishers, an important goal that we are committed to supporting. But the way you try to achieve this would break the way Google Search works. The Code would compel Google to pay for links to certain publishers, despite the value they already receive in Google’s free user traffic. This code creates an unreasonable and unmanageable financial and operational risk to our business. If the Code were to become law in its current form, we would have no choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia.
During a press conference in Brisbane on Friday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared that the country “does not[esn’t] respond to threats ”, referring to Google’s statement.
