Google protests 'unworkable' ACCC code for digital platforms to pay news media companies
Google has claimed the Australian government’s proposed code for digital platforms to pay news media companies for their content is “unworkable” and would force the tech company to “pay unreasonable and exorbitant amounts”.
As the deadline nears for public comment on the federal government’s proposed code, Google used a new blog post on its search site to attack the idea while admitting it would be unlikely to be able to escape its effects.
Last week, Google began notifying its users through a banner or pop up advertisement in Google Search, Chrome and YouTube about the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) draft code for digital platforms to pay news media companies for their content.
The code – which would apply to Google and Facebook – would also provide media companies with information on changes that might affect their traffic, such as alterations to news rankings or the search algorithm.
Google has claimed it is in favour of the code, but is strongly opposed to critical aspects of it, including the forced payments to media companies if negotiations on payments fail, advance notice of algorithm changes, and a requirement for Google to share information on news users with the media companies.
In its blog post on Monday, Google said the code was “unworkable” but admitted it would not be able to escape the code as it did in Spain – where the news feed was switched off – because the proposed code was so broadly defined.
“If we show Australians any content from any ‘news publisher’ (defined to include any ‘website’) in the world, we must also show all news content of news businesses registered under the code,” Google said, adding the definition of news was also extremely broad.
“This includes covering issues that are of ‘interest to Australians’, including foreign news and citizen journalism – which go well beyond traditional journalism to capture all kinds of information, blogs, videos and websites.”
The company said to circumvent the code, it would require Google to undertake a “mass cull of content globally” to stop any sort of news being visible to Australians.
When announcing the code in July, ACCC chair Rod Sims said the broad definition was by design, to ensure digital platforms were covered however news was served in Australia.
Under the code, Google and news media companies have three months to negotiate a payment amount before it goes to arbitration. Once in arbitration, a panel – either appointed by the two sides or by the communications regulator – will decide on a final amount based on submissions from both sides.
Google has argued this process “is set up to encourage news businesses to make unreasonable and exorbitant financial demands”, and is “extremely one-sided and unfair” because it does not take into account the value Google offers to the media companies in linking to their content.
“It simply isn’t viable for us, or any digital platform, to pay unreasonable and exorbitant amounts to one group in one country,” Google said.
The code specifies that the negotiations must consider whether the payment amount would place an “undue burden” on digital platforms.
Last week, the ACCC said the negotiation process was designed to secure a fair payment for journalists’ work and it was designed to “address a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook”.
Google denied that it was planning on charging users for its services, but said that the “free services” it provides are at risk by the proposed code by the issues it has raised.
Dr Belinda Barnet, a senior lecturer in media and communications at Swinburne University of Technology, last week wrote it was “laughable” that Google was trying to present itself as the “little guy” in the debate.
She said claims that search and other Google products would be adversely affected by payments, or by alerting news companies to changes to the algorithm, could be gaslighting.
“It’s tempting to conclude that Google is simply trying to gaslight its users by sowing doubt about the wisdom of the new regulations – because it doesn’t want to pay,” she said.
Google is also attempting to leverage its YouTube content creators with a YouTube video last week, where YouTube’s creator liaison Matt Koval detailed Google’s concerns with the proposed code to YouTube’s content creator community. The video had just under 8,000 views at the time of publication.
Google said in the post that “thousands” have responded with concerns about the code. The ACCC has yet to say how many of those thousands made a submission to the inquiry.
The ACCC is accepting submissions on the draft code until 5pm on 28 August.