No more free rides: Australia orders Facebook, Google to share advertising revenue from news articles with media organisations
- Facebook and Google will have to negotiate with traditional media on remuneration in good faith, failing which a binding arbitration process will be put in place
- The draft code is open to consultation until August 28 before being legislated this year
The two companies will have to negotiate with traditional media on remuneration in good faith, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Friday.
If no agreement is reached, there will be a binding arbitration process and penalties for breaching the code of up to A$10 million (US$7 million) or 10 per cent of local revenue.
The move aims to correct what the government says is a power imbalance between two of the world’s most profitable companies and a local media industry that’s bleeding jobs as it loses advertising revenue to digital platforms. It follows measures elsewhere in the world, including in France where antitrust regulator in April ordered Google to pay media companies to display snippets of articles.
“This is not about protecting Australian news media businesses from competition or from disruption that is occurring across the sector,” Frydenberg said “What we have sought to do is create a level playing field.”
Traditional media firms have long complained their content is being exploited by digital platforms without due compensation. As newspapers and broadcasters haemorrhage jobs, their complaints have garnered more political support.
