Lee cool on ‘must carry’ rule
Calls are being made for governments to force Facebook-owner Meta and other large social media companies to carry news reports from reputable media companies on their platforms in order to combat disinformation.
However, Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee said the Government had no plans for such intervention here.
A so-called “must carry” rule would prevent Meta blocking news content in order to sidestep laws designed to force it to pay for media content shared through its platforms.
Meta is shutting down a feature on Facebook that helps its members access news reports in Australia in response to a law that obliges it to strike licensing deals with media outlets there. It has taken a similar step in Canada and Lee has previously voiced concern it might respond the same way in New Zealand if the Government enacted the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which would otherwise oblige it to licence content from Kiwi media.
Rod Sims, a former chairperson of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, told The Australian that he had urged the Australian government to think laterally to combat what he described as Meta’s “arrogance”.
“The government should think about the full range of possibilities, including requiring that dominant social media platforms carry news. Otherwise you’re just going to get increasing disinformation, which from what I understand is exactly what’s happened in Canada,” he said..
It is understood the concept has also attracted interest from British media regulator Ofcom.
Victoria University academic Peter Thompson, chairperson of the Better Public Media lobby group, said he would support such a rule in New Zealand.
Given the degree to which platforms such as Facebook were integrated into people’s everyday lives, they were “almost impossible not to use”, he said. “I think there’s a very strong case for saying that they should be considered public utilities of a kind, even if they’re privately owned.”
That meant it would be reasonable to place obligations on them to minimise harm, such as obligations to “do no harm” and moderate their content, he said.
Exactly what content would be covered by such a rule would need to be carefully considered, he said.
Any must-carry rule could be accompanied by “a must-pay rule” that required social media companies to pay for that news content, he said.
But Thompson said he instead favoured a broader levy on digital advertising to help fund the media.
Lee said there were no plans for “must carry, must pay laws” in New Zealand.
“It’s a free market and I am focused on working collaboratively with tech companies to ensure they are investing in New Zealand and forming partnerships with our local media companies,” she said.
Meta declined to make public comment.