Name: Facebook, Google to be forced to pay for news as part of new mandatory code of conduct to support traditional news media - ABC News
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Facebook, Google to be forced to pay for news as part of new mandatory code of conduct to support traditional news media - ABC News

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Facebook, Google to be forced to pay for news as part of new mandatory code of conduct to support traditional news mediaShareFacebook and Google will have to pay traditional news media to publish their content under a new code of conduct developed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that could be implemented by the end of this year.The to govern commercial dealings between tech giants and news media companies.The draft version of the code has been released by the ACCC and will be open to consultation until the end of August with legislation expected to be introduced to Parliament "shortly after" the consultation ends.Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the code would "create a level playing field" between the two."We want Google and Facebook to continue to provide these services to the Australian community, which are so much loved and used by Australians," he said."But we want it to be on our terms."We want it to be in accordance with our law and we want it to be fair."The Treasurer will decide which digital platforms are subject to the code, with Mr Frydenberg saying it will "start with Google and Facebook".Mr Frydenberg said the code would require designated platforms to "negotiate in good faith" payment agreements with Australian news companies.Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the draft code did not define what content was worth or what kind of agreement should be entered into."The code contemplates that it could be one of more possibilities, it could be a fixed annual sum or it could be a payment per item of content," he said.ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the code was designed to be reviewed after a year, meaning if the process did not work it could change depending on feedback. He said he expected the decision would set a precedent globally."I don't want to get ahead of myself but just as we've learnt from overseas hopefully they can learn from us," Mr Sims said.Mr Fletcher said if an agreement could not be reached it would go to an arbitration tribunal where each side could put forward an offer and an independent arbiter would decide which one would go ahead.He also said the code would give smaller businesses, like regional and rural newspapers, the ability to collectively bargain with digital platforms and there would be penalties for digital giants who did not engage in negotiations."There are a range of different penalties, one of those possibilities is 10 per cent of the company's entire Australian turnover.""These are very high penalties … they're tough penalties."Mr Sims said the penalties could equate to hundreds of millions of dollars."This is a very powerful threat," he said.But he could not put a figure on how much revenue Google and Facebook would be paying big publishers for use of their content.The ACCC chairman said the new measures provided for three months of negotiation, and then 45 days of arbitration, which would force parties to agree to a payment figure sooner rather than later."We expect payments to be made well within six months of legislation being passed," he said.The Australian Communications and Media Authority will assess which news outlets are eligible based on criteria set out in the draft code."Namely that these businesses predominantly produce core news, such as journalism on matters on public importance, or local and community events and publish this online," Mr Frydenberg said."That these businesses adhere to appropriate professional editorial standards, they maintain editorial independence from the subject of their news coverage, and that they operate primarily in Australia for the purpose of serving Australian audiences."In a statement, Google Australia managing director Mel Silva described the code as "the Government's heavy-handed intervention"."Our hope was that the code would be forward-thinking and the process would create incentives for both publishers and digital platforms to negotiate and innovate for a better future," she said."So we are deeply disappointed and concerned the draft code does not achieve this. "Instead, the Government's heavy-handed intervention threatens to impede Australia's digital economy and impacts the services we can deliver to Australians." In Facebook's submission, it said it was confident there would be no significant impact on the company's revenue or "community metrics" if there were no news content available."Because news content is highly substitutable and most users do not come to Facebook with the intention of viewing news," it said."But the absence of news on Facebook would mean publishers miss out on the commercial benefits of reaching a wide and diverse audience."The company said it would "strongly prefer to continue enabling news publishers' content to be available" on its platform.In response to the announcement of a mandatory code, News Corp executive chairman Michael Miller said it could help secure the future of Australian media companies."The tech platforms' days of free-riding on other peoples' content are ending. They derive immense benefit from using news content created by others and it is time for them to stop denying this fundamental truth," he said.30 Jul 202030 Jul 2020Thu 30 Jul 2020 at 11:32pm, 31 Jul 202031 Jul 2020Fri 31 Jul 2020 at 3:27amMore on:

Facebook, Google to be forced to pay for news as part of new mandatory code of conduct to support traditional news mediaShareFacebook and Google will have to pay traditional news media to publish their content under a new code of conduct developed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that could be implemented by the end of this year.The to govern commercial dealings between tech giants and news media companies.The draft version of the code has been released by the ACCC and will be open to consultation until the end of August with legislation expected to be introduced...

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Facebook, Google to be forced to pay for news as part of new mandatory code of conduct to support traditional news media - ABC News

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