Australia Advances Plan to Make Facebook, Google Pay for News -- Update
December 08 2020 - 12:43AM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Cherney
SYDNEY--Australia will introduce new legislation this week that
will effectively require Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google
to pay for news, though officials say the proposal includes some
concessions to the tech giants after they publicly campaigned
against the plan.
Australia's effort is being closely watched around the world as
other countries grapple with how to compel tech companies to
compensate local publishers. Google and Facebook collect ad revenue
based on visits to their sites and can increase their traffic by
including links to news articles.
"This is comprehensive legislation that has gone further than
any comparable jurisdiction in the world," Australian Treasurer
Josh Frydenberg said Tuesday. "It will ensure that our media
landscape is more sustainable and more viable than otherwise would
have been."
A Google spokesperson said the company hadn't seen the latest
version of the legislation and didn't offer further comment.
Facebook said it will review the legislation once it is introduced
in parliament.
"We'll continue to engage through the upcoming parliamentary
process with the goal of landing on a workable framework to support
Australia's news ecosystem," said Will Easton, managing director of
Facebook Australia.
The legislation creates a mandatory code that would require
publishers and the tech companies to enter binding arbitration if a
deal on compensation can't be reached. However, if the parties
reach a deal voluntarily, they can agree to waive certain parts of
the code. Mr. Frydenberg said officials would prefer for publishers
and tech companies to strike deals without relying on the code.
Officials said the latest version of the code--the result of
three years of work--included some changes compared with a draft
from earlier this year. One change involves a provision that would
require tech companies to notify publishers of major algorithm
changes that can affect where news articles rank in search results.
The latest version of the code shortened the notice period of
algorithm changes to 14 days from 28 days.
Google and Facebook have argued in a series of blog posts and
statements that the previous version of the code was unworkable.
They have said that publishers benefit because links on social
media and search results send many readers directly to their sites.
At one point, Facebook said if the code is enacted, it would stop
allowing people in Australia to share local and international news
on Facebook and Instagram, the photo-sharing platform it owns.
Although the tech companies have resisted paying for content in
the past, they have softened that stance recently and have inked
some deals around the world.
Mr. Frydenberg said the latest version of the code wouldn't
apply to Instagram and YouTube, Google's video-sharing service. It
would only apply to Facebook's newsfeed feature and Google search,
though other services could be added later.
Media companies in Australia, including News Corp, owner of Dow
Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones
& Co., have supported the proposed regulations, saying they
will prevent social-media giants from walking away from
negotiations over payment.
News Corp Australasia Executive Chairman Michael Miller said
Tuesday that the legislation is a significant step forward.
"All we have ever sought is a fair commercial outcome and fair
payment for the valuable news content our journalists create," Mr.
Miller said. "I believe this code puts in place the framework for
this to be achieved."
Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 08, 2020 01:28 ET (06:28 GMT)
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