An Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) plan to force tech giants Google and Facebook to compensate publishers for the use of news content has been applauded by Country Press Australia.
Under the ACCC’s News Media Bargaining Code, which was developed at the request of the federal government, Google and Facebook will need to negotiate revenue-sharing deals with media companies for the use of their content.
Facebook and Google have raised concerns about the proposed code, saying it will impact their services and could lead to Australians being charged to use previously free services.
But Country Press Australia president Bruce Ellen said the tech giants’ claims were “disingenuous” and provided a “stark and compelling” reminder of why the code was necessary.
He said Facebook and Google were using content produced by news media businesses to drive increased audiences and engagement, build confidence in their platforms, and develop a commercial benefit.
“The fact that this commercial benefit to the tech giants has been at the expense of advertising revenue that previously supported the provision of public interest journalism in news media businesses massively compounds the challenges facing our democracy in sustaining independent and objective reporting, analysis and investigation,” Mr Ellen said.
“This concern is particularly acute for regional, rural and small publishers… recent closures of regional newspapers and local broadcasting newsrooms highlight the challenges.
“Country Press Australia applauds the federal government and ACCC for their determination to bring the global tech giants to the table to address a serious matter that should be of vital concern to all Australians.”
