Microsoft supports making technology firms pay for news

Microsoft is taking the side of news publishers who are locked in a battle with Google and Facebook, stating on Thursday that the company would support a Canadian effort to make big tech pay for news.

The assertion by Microsoft is the latest shift in a global power struggle between governments and big tech, with the news media industry in the middle.

Ottawa is about to propose rules in Canada which are expected to be similar to those proposed in Australia and deemed unworkable by Google and Facebook.

The Australia model, still under consideration by that country’s government, would require big tech firms to negotiate payments for their use of content created by media companies.

If an agreement can’t be made, an arbitrator would choose between the final offers submitted by each side.

In response to the proposal, Google has threatened to pull its search engine services from Australia.

“This has made for an unusual split within the tech sector, and we’ve heard from people asking whether Microsoft would support a similar proposal in the United States, Canada, the European Union and other countries,” said Microsoft in a blog post published on Thursday. “The short answer is yes.” Microsoft president Brad Smith said in the post that the Australian model is part of what’s needed for “technology, journalism and American democracy itself,” and that the recent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol by far-right extremists showed that “American democracy is in a fragile state.”

“In short, independent journalism is vital to the social cohesion that is essential for democracy,” wrote Smith.

He went on to suggest that his company’s search engine, Bing, would abide by the rules proposed in Australia. Bing has less than five per cent of the market share in Australia, and between 10 and 15 per cent market share in Canada and the United Kingdom, he said.

Media organizations across the world, including Torstar in Canada, have been lobbying governments to make big tech companies that promote news articles on their websites share some of the resulting advertising revenue with news publishers.

Ottawa has signalled it would support developing a framework for making that happen — it’s expected this year — and Australia has presented one of the first models for Canada’s government to consider.

“There is a clear market power imbalance that we intend to address through new legislation,” said Canadian Heritage ministry spokesperson Camille Gagné-Raynauld in a statement to the Toronto Star.

“That is why (Canadian Heritage) Minister (Steven) Guilbeault has been in touch with Australia, France and countries who are currently working on different compensatory solutions. We believe that a more sustainable and consistent set of rules will ultimately be a better safeguard for local, trusted and high-quality news content across Canada.”

Google and Facebook have objected to the model as it currently stands in Australia.