Australian surrender to tech giants is bad for democracy, says owner of the Mail
THE ‘surrender’ by the Australian government to technology giants Facebook and Google was ‘a bad day for democracy’, the owner of the Daily Mail has warned.
Facebook banned Australian news content on its platform last week in response to a proposed law that would have forced the US social network to pay publishers.
Earlier, Google had threatened to withdraw its search engine from Australia.
Yesterday Lord Rothermere, chairman of Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), which owns the Daily Mail, said the unprecedented move amounted to ‘ransom’.
And he said the subsequent climbdown by Canberra should worry politicians everywhere.
Facebook’s move prompted an international outcry – but within days the Australian government agreed to change its legislation. It was passed yesterday and is seen as a potential model for other nations to follow.
But in an open letter to the Financial Times, Lord Rothermere warned that the concessions effectively mean ‘Facebook has won the battle’.
His intervention came as Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden held talks with Facebook executives last night to raise concerns about the situation in Australia.
Lord Rothermere said in his letter: ‘Yesterday was a bad day for democracy. Politicians should be very worried about events in Australia.
‘Reporting news costs money, but for years Google and Facebook have plundered news content without paying for it while at the same time extracting ever greater profits from advertising markets they dominate. News publishers and governments have worked together to fight for fair treatment. In the UK, a new digital regulator is being set up; in Australia, parliament has been debating a law to force platforms to pay for content.
‘The platforms responded with blackmail. Google threatened to withdraw search in Australia; Facebook cancelled news. A nation was held to ransom – and it surrendered. As long as the platforms persuade enough desperate news publishers to sign take-it-or-leave-it deals, there will now be no fair, independent arbitration.
‘In Facebook’s own words: “The government has clarified we will retain the ability to decide if news appears on Facebook... to support the publishers we choose”.
‘In other words Facebook has won the battle. It decides what news is read on social media and how much, if anything, it pays for it.’
Lord Rothermere also raised concerns about a deal between Google and media giant News Corp, which owns The Australian newspaper and UK titles including The Times and The Sun. He wrote: ‘Google has signed a global deal with one of its most vociferous critics. News Corp has announced it has won “significant payments” and “the sharing of ad revenue via Google’s ad technology services”.
‘What does it give in return? Will it continue to fight for fair terms of business for all publishers, or are two of the world’s most ruthless companies now locked in an unholy alliance, giving rise to unfair competition unless its terms are made public?
‘Politicians everywhere... must ask themselves, who makes the rules? Do the platforms decide what news the public can read in secret deals with the publishers they favour? Or will governments and regulators act with genuine resolve to ensure fair and transparent treatment for all?’
Facebook and Google said the original proposals put forward in Australia were ‘unworkable’ and that they already help drive traffic towards news websites.
Sir Nick Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister who now fronts Facebook’s public relations operation, claimed the plans amounted to handing a ‘blank cheque’ to media firms.
The laws would have seen a media code applied to the platforms, requiring them to enter negotiations with the publishers of news content hosted on their services.
If talks broke down, they would have been required to enter arbitration to decide a ‘fair price’ – with the final decision binding on both parties.
But following Facebook’s news blackout, the Australian government watered down its proposals. The changes mean Facebook and Google could avoid having to follow the media code altogether.
‘Politicians should be very worried’