Australia to make tech giants pay for using news content from local media publishers

After Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced that it would opt out of former Australian PM Scott Morrison-era law to pay for using news from local news publishers, the current Albanese government aims to introduce a new scheme to ensure that the tech giants continue to pay local media publishers for using their content. The government says that this scheme, expected on Thursday, is aimed at protecting the sustainability of the country's news industry.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said that under the new scheme, tech companies such as Google and Meta will be fined hefty penalties for refusing to negotiate a deal with local Australian news publishers. The decision builds on a law introduced in 2021, which made Australia one of the first countries to require digital platforms to negotiate a deal and pay local media outlets.

The new scheme described as the "news bargaining initiative" aims at balancing the power between big tech companies and local news media outlets, who have argued that the tech platforms were profiting from their content without fair compensation. Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said, "The News Bargaining Initiative will create a financial incentive for agreement-making between digital platforms and news media businesses in Australia."

Under the law in 2021, tech platforms and local publishers reached agreements worth hundreds of millions of dollars. On one hand, while Google has voluntarily renewed the agreement, Meta, who earlier struck a deal with Australian media firms such as News Corp., and Australian Broadcasting Corp, said that it would not renew the agreements beyond 2024.

The parliamentary joint select committee on social media and Australian society focused mainly on Meta and criticized its decision to not renew deals. A Meta spokesperson said that the report "ignores the realities of how our platforms work, the preferences of the people who use them, and the value we provide news publishers who choose to post their content on our platforms." The updated laws are set to be introduced soon, with hopes of securing long-term benefits for Australia's media landscape.

Source: Reuters

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