Free ride over as tech giants told to pay for Aussie news
AUSTRALIA is on track to become the first country in the world to order Google and Facebook to pay for the news it uses after an announcement yesterday that has been dubbed a “watershed moment” for Australians and the media industry.
The Australian Competition and Consumer CommisINTERSTATE sion set down rules for the breakthrough in a draft code that will force the multibillion-dollar tech firms to pay for Australian journalism on their platforms and share information about how news content is used.
And the tech giants will face “hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties” if they fail to comply with the new laws, which could be in place before the end of the year.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg launched the ACCC’s draft news bargaining code in Canberra yesterday, saying it was designed to create a “level playing field” for Australian media businesses forced to work with powerful tech monopolies but unable to share revenue from their own content.
“It’s about a fair go for Australian news media businesses,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“Nothing less than the future of the Australian media landscape is at stake with these changes.”
The draft code comes one year after the ACCC handed down the results of a comprehensive, 18-month inquiry into digital platforms that recommended tech giants share revenue acquired “directly or indirectly” from Australian news on their platforms.
Under the new code, Google
and Facebook must compensate commercial news businesses for the use of their content, with negotiations over payment taking place over three months.
If the companies cannot agree, they will have 45 days to submit a final offer, with the most appropriate chosen by an arbitrator. Laws could be introduced to parliament within months.
Google Australia and New
Zealand managing director Mel Silva slammed the draft code yesterday, saying it put Google services in Australia at risk.
News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller called the draft code a “watershed moment to benefit all Australians”.
“The tech platforms’ days of free-riding on other peoples’ content are ending,” Mr Miller said.